Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Bahrain, Unicorn Investment Bank (Unicorn) is an Islamic financial services group, with an international presence in the United States, Malaysia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia (through its majority shareholding in Unicorn Capital Saudi Arabia). The Bank is also a major shareholder in Dawood Islamic Bank, Pakistan. Unicorn seeks to deliver exceptional value to clients and shareholders through a focus on innovation, professionalism and integrity – the shared values that drive the Bank’s endeavour to be a leading global provider of Shari’ah-compliant investment banking products and services.
Unicorn’s integrated business model is built around six core business lines: Asset Management & Real Estate, Capital Markets, Corporate Finance, Private Equity, Strategic Mergers & Acquisitions and Treasury. The Bank leverages its resources and expertise across each of these business lines to provide clients with a comprehensive range of investment solutions tailored to meet their specific requirements.
Unicorn’s integrated product offering and financial engineering skills are closely intertwined with a strong capacity to distribute the Bank’s products and services to a broad client base across the GCC region, the wider Middle East region, Southeast Asia, the USA and Europe. The Bank’s Investment Development & Distribution team caters to high net worth individuals, family businesses, financial institutions, corporations, governments and quasi-governmental organizations, offering a client-driven service platform focused on meeting the particular requirements of each client.
All Unicorn products and transactions are governed by two essential principles: that they fully comply with Shari’ah principles; and that they are benchmarked against international financial best practices. The Unicorn Shari’ah Supervisory Board ensures that all investment policies, structures, products and financial services and activities that the Bank is involved in are in conformity with Shari’ah principles, while the Bank’s stringent corporate governance standards ensure that the Bank, its directors and its employees follow the highest standards of ethical conduct and adhere to the principles of fairness, transparency, accountability and responsibility in all day-to-day operations.
Unicorn has completed several landmark transactions since its inception, including the establishment of T’azur, a regional Takaful company; the acquisition of Bahrain Financing Company, the oldest and one of the leading foreign exchange and remittance houses in the GCC; and the successful launch of the Strategic Acquisition Fund, a US$1 billion fund to acquire strategic stakes in commercial banks globally. The Bank has achieved consistent growth since its inception and has received widespread industry recognition for excellence and vision.