Oman-backed fund invests in Spanish digital acceleration firm

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MUSCAT: The Spain Oman Private Equity Fund (SOPEF), a joint venture between the Oman Investment Authority (OIA) and Spanish state-owned trading company Cofides, has announced plans to fund the growth of a subsidiary of Making Science Group, a leading Spanish-based digital marketing and technology company.

The beneficiary is Making Science Marketing & AdTech which, together with parent group Making Science, is set to receive up to 40 million euros in investments over the next two years. Making Science Marketing & Adtech specializes in providing advanced solutions in data analytics, ad campaign optimization and user experience personalization.

The SOPEF fund, set up by Oman and Spain last October, seeks to promote investment in Spanish companies with high growth potential. Its remit is to foster economic cooperation and strengthen ties between the two countries by investing in strategic sectors such as renewable energy, technology, infrastructure and healthcare.

Commenting on the latest investment, José Manuel Bartolomé, Director of the SOPEF fund, said: "Making Science meets all the requirements we are looking for in SOPEF, since it is a growth project with a mission to lead and an international outlook. It is also a sector of great attractiveness and growth, due to the digitalization and transformation component that digital marketing is bringing to the industry and that presents great opportunities in the coming years."

José Antonio Martínez Aguilar, Founder and CEO of Making Science, welcomed the Omani sovereign wealth fund’s backing for the transaction. "The entry of a fund with the support of a sovereign wealth fund indicates on the one hand the strength of the Making Science project and on the other hand gives us access to an investment capacity that allows us to compete with large global groups. MCH (which manages the SOPEF Fund) is a firm with extensive experience in helping Spanish companies to grow abroad and the investment of a sovereign wealth fund such as Oman Investment Authority, besides showing the strength of the Making Science project, will facilitate our growth in the Middle East."

Besides having a presence in over 15 countries globally, Making Science is also a consulting partner of Local Planet, the world's largest network of independent media agencies, which offers digital marketing, Adtech and Martech, cloud technologies and software, and cybersecurity services globally.