Private Equity

Abraaj Episode & Implications for GCC Private Equity Industry

Globally, private-equity (PE) firms manage about USD 3 trillion of capital for various investors such as pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and High Net worth Individuals (HNWI). However, less than USD 18bn of that (approximately, 0.6%) is managed by PE firms based in the Middle East region. The minuscule proportion of the Assets under Management (AuM) of the regional PE industry sets clear perspective on the size of PE industry in the region compared with the global level. Recently,...

Alternative Financing to Gain Prominence in GCC

However, the current low oil price environment has transformed the financing landscape in the region as traditional methods of financing such as bank loans are being fast replaced with alternatives such as bonds, private equity, crowdsourcing and IOU’s. The report added that budgetary deficits have forced the government to fix their deficits through debt issuance in both the domestic and international markets. The sudden spurt in debt issuance by the government and its related entities might be overwhelming for the...

GCC Private Equity – Still in its infancy

In the GCC, private equity is still at a nascent stage, but had witnessed significant growth between 2002 and 2008. But the onset of global financial crisis stalled growth of the industry. Fundraising had become anemic, despite the sizeable amount of dry powder accumulated over the boom years, and deals had stalled as acquisition finance became expensive and difficult to obtain.   Most PE funds in the GCC region have broad sector focus with investments ranging from healthcare to ICT,...