M1 Group

The business was created in the early 1980s by Taha Mikati and Najib Mikati, the latter of whom became Prime Minister of Lebanon in 2005, and again in 2011.[2] It began in the construction sector. During the 1980s it expanded into telecommunications and formed the basis of their flagship company Investcom. In 2005, Investcom employed more than 5000 people with a presence in ten countries across three continents. Its gross earnings reached $660 million. When listed on the London Stock Exchange and that of Dubai on 6 October 2005, it had a market capitalization of $3.3 billion and was among the largest companies in the middle east.

In June 2006, the South African company MTN bought Investcom for $5.5 billion,[3] thereby becoming the first mobile phone corporation for the middle eastern market.

In 2007, the Mikati brothers founded M1 Group, which now comprises:

• M1 limited, which holds a 10% stake in MTN
• M1 Real Estate which owns real estate in Europe, the United States and the Middle East[4]
• M1 Fashion which owns several clothing brands including Façonnable, Pepe jeans and Hackett London[5][2]
• M1 Capital, which oversees the holding's financial assets and portfolios
• M1 Enterprises, which main activity is to invest in various businesses across different sectors
• M1 investments, which focuses on managing the holding's private equity funds
• AREEBA, a financial technology company

In February 2010, M1 Group acquired 50% of the EFG-Hermes stake in the Lebanese Bank Audi, the largest bank in the country, for $450 million.