Georges Benarroch does not work for clients, whether corporate or institutional: he only works with them, as a co-investor or partner. Clients are all drawn to his services by a common goal: to benefit from personalized advice that is tailored to their unique needs.
Activities comprise equity trading; private financing; and mergers and acquisitions. Comindus Finance’s expertise is especially well suited to investors who are looking for opportunities in emerging sectors. Comindus Finance has developed a reputation for in-depth understanding of macroeconomics, as well as for identifying trends, new companies and start-ups that hold long-term promise — especially in natural resources, energy, investment management, technology and biotech. Over his career, Georges Benarroch has helped launch numerous companies, raising billions of dollars in financing and advising companies at every stage of their growth. Comindus Finance’s current portfolio includes a wide range of sectors, and actively participates as advisor or manager for companies in which he has a stake.
Georges Benarroch does not “network“ . He relies on referrals from satisfied partners for new projects, and undertakes such projects only after careful study. While he prides himself on his independence, he also knows how to assemble the right team for any particular enterprise. Comindus Finance employs analysts, traders, sales staff and back office personnel — many of whom have worked with Georges Benarroch for decades. This ensures that clients benefit from specialized expertise that is suited to their specific requirements.
Comindus Finance views its engagements with clients as teamwork. Through its willingness to share risk via its own financial participation, and by relying on its own assessment — not the approval of a management committee — Comindus Finance distinguishes itself from most corporate finance houses. It is proud to say that it truly does partner with its clients.
Case Studies:How We Do Things
OIL & GAS
Comindus Finance was a pioneer in investing in Eastern Europe. Starting in the mid-1980s, it was an active equities trader on the Vienna and Budapest bourses, and it was among the first to bring institutional venture capital to the Confederation of Independent States (CIS) after the fall of the Soviet Union, with a special focus on the potential offered by the oil and gas sector in the CIS, particularly Kazakhstan.
Having developed expertise in this area, Comindus Finance undertook the financing of Hurricane Hydrocarbons, a small, Alberta-based oil exploration company which was acquiring oil assets in Kazakhstan and which it sponsored for listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company went on to list on the New York Stock Exchange and reached a market capitalization of $1 billion. After a debt restructuring, it changed its name to Petrokazakhstan, and was ultimately purchased for over $4 billion by China National Petroleum Corporation.
Comindus Finance undertook several other financial ventures in the CIS and Russia, including various Kazakh energy start-ups. After the sale of InterUnion Investment Management, a $1.5 billion Canadian asset management company, Comindus Finance used its parent entity to help his Kazakh partners acquire and finance their oil and gas properties. In 2003, the company became BMB Munai Inc., a Kazakh exploration, development and production company that was listed on the American Stock Exchange before being acquired.
PRECIOUS METALS
Exposure to gold and silver has created multiple financing opportunities for Comindus in the Americas, Africa, Asia. The inherent risk attached to the exploration and development of mines has prompted Comindus to adhere to the belief that in the mining business, the general store owner was the one who most of the times, was able to create durable wealth. Hence, the ownership of an operational, state of the art camp in Canada:Camp Gilla
TECHNOLOGY
Comindus Finance got involved very early in Genesis Microchip which created the technology for integrated circuits for video processors that set the industry standard for flat-panel televisions and monitors. Intending to go public, it found its IPO plans derailed by the stock market crash of 1987. Comindus Finance saw this setback for the company as an opportunity. Convinced of the company’s potential, he co-invested and participated in each round of financing until its NASDAQ listing in 1998 with a $30 million IPO. Genesis ultimately reached a $650 million market capitalization before being sold in 2007 to ST Microelectronics.
Following Genesis’ success, Comindus Finance joined its founder’s subsequent ventures into Silicon Optix, which raised $120 million but ceased operations following the market turmoil of 2008. Nonetheless, Comindus Finance continues to partner with the founder of Genesis in his latest venture, GEO Semiconductor. This business relationship is indicative of the long-term approach and commitment Comindus Finance brings to financing. He attracts other investors, participates in multiple rounds of investment — often maintaining his percentage share as a company grows — and eschews arbitrary exit deadlines in favor of ongoing, stable relationships.
LIFE SCIENCES & COSMECEUTICALS
Comindus Finance undertook the restructuring of a poorly-managed biotechnology company that was heavily in debt. Over the last 10 years, it has spun off a number of businesses from this venture while retaining control of the core scientific business, Kyto IP, which Comindus Finance continues to finance.
Kyto is a pre-clinical-stage company, focused on developing monoclonal antibody and oligonucleotide targeting therapeutics for the treatment of various forms of cancer, and has had notable successes, which include:
- Developing monoclonal antibody technology through SUNY (State of University of New York) to combat a variety of cancers
- Discovering and cloning the TCblR receptor gene, and developing technology to suppress its expression
- Obtaining worldwide intellectual property protection for its targeted Vitamin B12 platform technology
- Obtaining the licensing rights from RFSUNY, the university’s research foundation .
Today, Kyto continues its research and development, and is currently seeking to further develop its proprietary biological targeting agents—through joint ventures, sub-licensing, or partnership in its broad intellectual property portfolio of 16 issued patents, one allowed patent application and four pending patent applications. Through the research made by Kyto , a pioneer in the study of Vitamin B12 biology and instrumental in the discovery of the human vitamin B12 receptor, a milestone in the annals of human biology, and through Kyto’s vast experience in the study of Ubiquinone (Co-Q-10) and other similar derivatives, Comindus Finance created a new cosmeceutical company which, using the principles of nanotechnology and systems biology, is focusing on a number of innovative anti-aging products.
The research performed by Kyto over the years on Vitamin B12, for which it was granted multiple patents, has allowed Comindus to start a new cosmeceutical venture, SimySkin Inc. SimySkin develops, manufactures and distributes a complete “smart” line of wrinkle-reducing and anti-aging serums and creams using groundbreaking technologies.
Comindus Finance’s success in these diverse projects demonstrates a unique ability: it combines specialized sector knowledge, cross-cultural expertise and financial acumen to deliver results for its partners.