After almost 50 years of competition, why would two companies choose to merge? Is it as simple as the big entity buying the smaller one, or is there more to the story? 

On this episode of Making It, Ahmed Ragab joins Patrick to share how things actually played out for him.  

Ragab is the CEO and Partner at Baraka Retail Group. This past May, Ragab sold control of Baraka Optics to Maghrabi, via a merger through acquisition, where Maghrabi bought 51% of his company. He chose not to walk away, even though he could have. 

Baraka launched in 1979 as a wholesale business focusing on optics. Today, they operate in a number of industries: optics, fashion and e-commerce.

Ragab explains the why behind the decision, and then breaks down the projected outcomes. He also shares his ethos as a manager, how he keeps up with trends “in a classic industry,” and how he thinks about the question of succession.

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After almost 50 years of competition, why would two companies choose to merge? Is it as simple as the big entity buying the smaller one, or is there more to the story?&nbsp;
On this episode of Making It, Ahmed Ragab joins Patrick to share how things actually played out for him.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Ragab is the CEO and Partner at Baraka Retail Group. This past May, Ragab sold control of Baraka Optics to Maghrabi, via a merger through acquisition, where Maghrabi bought 51% of his company. He chose not to walk away, even though he could have.&nbsp;
Baraka launched in 1979 as a wholesale business focusing on optics. Today, they operate in a number of industries: optics, fashion and e-commerce.
Ragab explains the why behind the decision, and then breaks down the projected outcomes. He also shares his ethos as a manager, how he keeps up with trends &ldquo;in a classic industry,&rdquo; and how he thinks about the question of succession.
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Six days a week, we help top executives make sense of the Arab world’s companies and economies — and every Thursday, our editor-in-chief, Patrick, talks shop with the people who run them. 

Making It is an hour where the founders, CEOs, investors, and policymakers making the biggest decisions in our region show their work and talk about what’s next. 

From EnterpriseAM, the Arab world’s business daily.

Six days a week, we help top executives make sense of the Arab world&rsquo;s companies and economies &mdash; and every Thursday, our editor-in-chief, Patrick, talks shop with the people who run them.&nbsp;
Making It is an hour where the founders, CEOs, investors, and policymakers making the biggest decisions in our region show their work and talk about what&rsquo;s next.&nbsp;
From EnterpriseAM, the Arab world&rsquo;s business daily.

A show where we talk shop with the people who run the biggest companies in the Arab world.

Making It

After almost 50 years of competition, why would two companies choose to merge? Is it as simple as the big entity buying the smaller one, or is there more to the story?  On this episode of Making It, Ahmed Ragab joins Patrick to share how things actually played out for him. 