VFS Global Acquires Middle Eastern FMC Partner Al Etimad

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, March 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

VFS Global has agreed to take over 100% of the Middle Eastern Facility Management Company (FMC) Al Etimad from TasHeel Group as per a binding agreement signed between both parties. 

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Al Etimad operates as a FMC partner for VFS Global in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya and Tunisia. The company serves 25 diplomatic missions and operates more than 90 visa application centres across the five countries. Al Etimad is since 2009 active in the visa outsourcing market and employs around 650 professionals. Al Etimad owns the travel concierge services company Vega, which is part of the transaction. The Al Etimad visa operations in Pakistan are not included in the acquisition.

To benefit from operational efficiencies and synergies with VFS Global, Al Etimad will be integrated in VFS Global's operations after completion of the transaction. This will enable further development of services and solutions and improving the overall service to the missions served and the visa applicants in the five countries.

VFS Global is the pioneer and market leader of the outsourced visa services industry, serving 58 governments and with operations across 137 countries, as at 31 January 2018. VFS Global is part of the Swiss Kuoni Group, whose principal owner is EQT, a leading global investment firm, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. EQT is firmly committed to the growth and development of VFS Global, and this transaction will ensure that visa services will be further benefitted from VFS Global's innovative strength, its well diversified service portfolio, investments in technology and the acknowledged quality of its global offerings.

Subject to customary approval from the competition and regulatory authorities, the transaction is expected to complete later in 2018.

Message from Zubin Karkaria, CEO VFS Global Group: "We are very pleased to take over complete ownership of Al Etimad and Vega. It will enable us to accelerate the further development of the business and improve overall performance through greater integration. I would like to thank the TasHeel Group for partnering us in successfully managing the visa services operations in these five countries." 

About VFS Global  

VFS Global is the world's largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide. With 2,530 Application Centres, operations in 137 countries across five continents and over 163 million applications processed as on 31 January 2018, VFS Global is the trusted partner of 58 client governments. VFS Global's worldwide operations are certified ISO 9001:2008 for Quality Management System, ISO 27001:2013 for Information Security Management System and ISO 14001:2004 for Environmental Management System. For more information, please visit http://www.vfsglobal.com .

Media Contact:
Peter Brun
Chief Communications Officer
PeterB@vfsglobal.com 
VFS Global