NBK Capital, an alternative investment firm focused on growth capital in middle market companies throughout the MENA region, has acquired a 49 percent stake in United Arab Emirates-based casual dining chain Shakespeare and Co. The transaction was structured through NBK Capital Equity Partners Fund II. Shakespeare and Co., which owns and operates 17 establishments in the U.A.E. and one in the United States, as well as franchise locations in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and Oman, intends to use the fresh capital to accelerate regional and international expansion.