Securities and Commodities Authority-licensed Mondial (Dubai) has been sold to the Cyprus-headquartered Woodbrook Group.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Mondial’s chief executive Sean Kelleher, who has been with the company since 1989, will remain in his role.
The company will also retain its name and branding.
Expansion plans
Speaking to International Adviser, Woodbrook Group chief executive Michael Doherty said Mondial has “a very good ethos in how they work”.
“Sean has been in the industry for 30 years, to have someone like that and to be able to work alongside him is phenomenal for me. I can learn a lot.”
Mondial’s drive into the corporate pension market also made the company an attractive proposition.
“This is not a short-term story, we are looking to build something strong that we can grow into the future.”
Woodbrook’s Mifid and Mondial’s SCA licences means that the group can support clients as they move between the two jurisdictions, he added.
Doherty also has plans beyond the UAE and is potentially eyeing a move into Saudi Arabia.
Stronger proposition
Woodbrook described Mondial as “one of the Emirates’ oldest established financial planning and wealth management companies”.
Doherty said: “This gives our clients an even stronger and more diverse range of investment management skills and we believe this will enable us to deliver an even better investment proposition and service to our enlarged client base.”
Kelleher added: “This is an extremely positive development for Mondial and our clients. Joining the Woodbrook Group strengthens our financial backbone, in turn enabling us to improve our range of client-driven services.
“Woodbrook Group and Mondial are closely aligned culturally, particularly in the area of compliance. Mondial has a highly transparent regime and Woodbrook, coming from a European Mifid environment with strong compliance, further fortifies our regulatory compliance strategy.”
