Tiger Global Buys Dubai Based Deals Site Cabone [UPDATED]

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Tiger Global, a famous hedge fund founded has acquired Cobone, a global daily deals website based in Dubai, a city-state in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to a press release, the amount of shares purchased by the investment management firm is unknown.

Tiger Global’s decision to acquire stakes in Cobone indicated that the local internet start-up has the ability to generate high return-on-investments. According to the report, the hedge fund’s capital infusion will help the company expand its business operation.

Irish entrepreneur, Paul Kenny is the founder of Cobone and he will be responsible in running the business together with other members of the management team including Warrick Godfrey, Pieter Sleeboom, Tahira Khan and Loai Ayoub. Their primary objective is increase the market share of Cobone in the region.

Kenny established Cobone with support from Jabbar Internet Group. Since then, Cobone became the leading daily deals site in the Middle East. The company demonstrated the ability to compete in a highly competitive environment and expand globally.

Cobone has two million registered customers and is the 24th most visited site in the United Arab Emirates according to Alexa rankings. The company helps customers save money through by purchasing daily deals on its website. Cobone’s already sold more than 1.5 million coupons and estimated that customers saved almost $100 million.

Commenting on the latest transaction with Tiger Global, Kenny said, “This deal represents a very exciting future for Cobone as it reaffirms its commitment to the Middle Eastern market and e-commerce industry. Tiger Global gives us the international clout and the financial resources to expand regionally and surpass already high customer expectations. Loyal Cobone users can look forward to many exciting developments and innovative offerings in the very near future.”

On the other hand, Jabbar Internet chairman Samih Toukan said: ‘The deal represents the international recognition of a highly successful local business. With Paul Kenny, we created a company that lead the way in regional group buying, and took on global players on our own turf. While this deal represents a successful exit for the Jabbar Group, we have little doubt in Cobone’s commitment to the region, and in Paul’s determination to continue excelling and leading his brainchild to new successes.’

Tiger Global seems  attracted to daily deals businesses. Tiger Global owns 65 million shares of the struggling Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) as of November last year.  Another tiger cub, Philippe Laffont of Coatue Management bought shares 7.5 million shares of Groupon during the fourth quarter of 2012.

12:05PM EST: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Tiger Management purchased Cobone. The prior version of this article linked to a site which cited Tiger Management as the buyer. The current version notes the correct purchaser, Tiger Global. This version links to the press release which notes the buyer as Tiger Global.

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