Founded 1997 Total assets 8.4 million USD | Net income 12.4 million USD Total equity 7.5 million USD | |
Key people Atif A. Abdulmalik, CEOHisham Al RaeeMartin TanMohammed Chowdhury Parent Arcapita Group Holdings Headquarters Atlanta, Georgia, United States | ||
Arcapita Investment Management B.S.C. (formerly First Islamic Investment Bank and Crescent Capital Investments) is an originator of investments in private equity and real estate assets which comply with Sharia principles. Headquartered in Manama, Bahrain, the company and its subsidiaries are wholly owned by Arcapita Group Holdings Limited. Arcapita has offices in Atlanta, London, and Singapore. It owns the Delaware, US-incorporated holding and real estate company Arcapita, Inc. (formerly known as Crescent Investments, Inc.), headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, which buys American companies for between $200 million and $1 billion, and sells them four to six years later.
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Name change
On March 15, 2005, parent company First Islamic Investment Bank and its subsidiaries changed their name to Arcapita and adopted a new logo. The name "Arcapita" is a combination of the words "arc" and "capital", "arc" symbolizing the company's global span, from Atlanta to London to Bahrain. The firm indicated that its name change did not relate to potential anti-Islam sentiments in the regions in which it was operating.
The name change resulted in some controversy as to whether it was done to hide the company's Middle Eastern roots. According to the company, the unified name was introduced to avoid confusion about the relationships between the parent company, First Islamic Investment Bank, and its subsidiaries, Crescent Capital in the U.S. and Crescent Capital (Europe) Ltd., based in London. The company also wanted to reassure investors who were uneasy about the perceived religious association of the old name.
September 11 boycott
In response to the September 11th terrorist attacks, a boycott was initiated against the coffee chain Caribou Coffee, which Crescent Capital had acquired in 2000. According to Fred Taub, president of Cleveland-based Boycott Watch, some people objected to Muslim ownership of the U.S.-based coffee chain. However, the boycott did not have a significant effect on the growth of the chain, which grew from 175 stores in 2001 to more than 400 in 2006.
Compliance with Sharia
Every investment made by Arcapita Bank and its subsidiary corporations is approved by a four-member Sharia advisory board. The board includes a retired judge from Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court, and religious scholars from Pakistan and Bahrain. In accordance with Islamic Sharia law, the company does not invest in any businesses which offer credit or charge interest, or sell pornography, alcohol, or pork products.
According to representatives of the company, the Sharia advisory board does not make decisions about the financial merits of investments, and does not play a role in hiring or promotion of employees.
Investments
Arcapita's holdings have included: