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The largest fund ever raised in the Middle
East/North Africa region
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First time for a Private Equity fund to be
significantly oversubscribed
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Highest demand ever faced by a PE fund
Dubai,
19 December: BMA Capital’s joint venture partner, Abraaj
Capital, which is the largest private equity firm in the
Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region
announced today the final closing of its $500 million
second Buyout Fund (ABOF II), the largest fund ever to
be raised in the Middle East.
“The
reputation and track record of Abraaj Capital has
allowed us to raise and close ABOF II in record time”
said Arif Naqvi, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of
Abraaj Capital. “We are very positive about the future
economic prospects of the region and over the next few
years we will be using this fund to act as a catalyst
for growth in the Middle East and return superior risk
adjusted returns to our shareholders as we have done for
the last 4 years. With the closure of the new fund, we
now have $1 billion of assets under management. We are
already at an advanced stage on a number of acquisitions
for the fund to invest in. We are excited at the
numerous prospects ahead of us where we can do what we
do best, that is unlock potential and create value in
mature businesses across the region that can benefit
from our expertise, and acquiring companies from the
region that can compete regionally and indeed globally
as well.”
The
demand for this fund has been unprecedented. Originally
capped at $500 million, ABOF II received demands
exceeding US$ 850 Million, prompting the decision to
accelerate the closing to November 30, instead of the
earlier announced target date of December 31. The
overwhelming response has not been limited to high net
worth individuals and family groups. A number of
International institutional investors have made regional
investments for the first time bringing a strong
international flavor to ABOF II. From the region, a
large number of state owned pension funds have also
taken a stake in ABOF II, as well as the prominent
financial institutions in the region.
“The
size of this fund is a landmark in terms of the history
of the private equity industry in the Middle East”, said
Sheikh Abdulrahman Al Turki, Chairman of Abraaj Capital
and one of Saudi Arabia’s most respected business
leaders, “ABOF II shares the same investment approach
and strategy as its earlier sibling ABOF I. We invest
opportunistically and are not sector specific. We
identify deals before we seek to raise the funds and
will honor our commitment to investors by declining
demand in excess of US$ 500 million” he continued.
Abraaj
Capital has an extremely distinguished Board of
Directors who oversee its business. Apart from Sheikh
Abdulrahman Al Turki and Arif Naqvi, it includes
regional business leaders such as Hussain Al Nowais (non
executive Vice Chairman), Sheikh Sultan al Qassimi,
Bassam Ghais and Hamid Jaffar from the UAE, Sheikh Nawaf
Nasser bin Khalid al Thani from Qatar, Saud Kanoo from
Bahrain, Fadi Ghandour from Jordan and Ashok Aram
(representing Deutsche Bank). The Executive Director
Team comprises of Shirish Saraf, Humayun Shahryar, Waqar
Siddique, Simon Davies and Frederic Sicre, who lead a
team of over 70 professionals.
“Deutsche Bank has been a shareholder of Abraaj Capital
since inception and is extremely pleased with the
progress of the firm and the role it has played in
catalyzing the Private Equity Industry in the SAMENA
region. The commitment of the team and the quality of
its transactions bodes well for the future and its role
in the further evolution of regional markets” said Ashok
Aram, Managing Director at Deutsche Bank in London.
Abraaj Capital’s first family of funds Abraaj Buy Out
Fund I (ABOFI), Abraaj Special Opportunities I (ASOFI)
and Abraaj Real Estate I (AREF I) are fully invested and
have all tracked internal rates of return well over 50%,
reported in compliance with European Venture Capital
Association guidelines. ABOF I largely returned initial
invested capital to its shareholders within 18 months
thanks to the highly successful exits of Aramex
International and Oman National Investment Corporation
Holding (ONIC) and is the predecessor fund to ABOF II.
“Private equity is an asset class in full expansion
throughout the region, and an investment vehicle of
growing importance to international institutions such as
DIC,” added Mr. Sameer Ansari, CEO of Dubai
International Capital, one of the anchor Limited
Partners in the new fund.
“Abraaj Capital is the only Private Equity firm in the
region which has been able to deliver an IRR of 50% or
more on all of its past investment funds during both
good and bad times. The track record and talent of
entrepreneurship in the firm are deeply entrenched which
encouraged the investment arm of DIC to make this
investment in ABOFII,” he continued.
"CVCI's
investment in Abraaj - a premier private equity house in
the Middle East - reflects our confidence in their team
and its ability to generate superior returns in a region
with burgeoning opportunities," said Dipak Rastogi, Vice
Chairman, Citigroup Venture Capital International.
Shirish Saraf and Frederic Sicre, Executive Directors at
Abraaj Capital put the fund into a macro-economic
context:
“The
future economic outlook in the Middle East for the next
3 to 5 years will be unprecedented in terms of economic
opportunity. Strategically it is important for all
players to use this position of strength to focus on
long-term growth. Private Equity represents the best
insurance against short term risks and we feel it is
important to remind the market of this, especially in
the times of current euphoria in the regional capital
markets. We are a regional firm and are represented
through our diversified body of over 200 shareholders
within the 5 funds operated by us and with whom we form
strategic partnerships. We work with our investors to
identify potential before anybody else does. We are also
a trusted partner for governments as privatisation
efforts gain momentum across the region. We intend to
continue to play our role as a firm that drives economic
change and creates value for our investors.”
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About Abraaj Capital
Abraaj Capital is the leading asset management firm in
the Middle East/North Africa region based in Dubai. It
has $1 billion of assets under management. The firm’s
primary expertise is in private equity buyouts,
strategic minority block positions in public enterprises
and real estate investments within the region. The
executive directors of the firm have a long history of
working together and are associated with some of the
landmark private equity transactions in the region such
as the acquisition of
Aramex, Inchcape Middle
East-the first and largest leveraged buyout
transaction in the region and
Jordan Aircraft
Maintenance Company-JorAMCo, a privatisation
by the Government of Jordan. For more information, visit
www.abraaj.com.
About
BMA Capital
BMA Capital is Pakistan’s premier investment firm with a
proven track record of successfully operating in the
country’s capital markets since 1990. In 2004, BMA
concluded a joint venture with Abraaj. The firm is
rapidly expanding into new business lines such as
Asset Management, Retail
Brokerage, Private Equity, which are
pioneering efforts in Pakistan. For more information,
please visit
www.bmacapital.com
For further information, please contact:
Shehryar Ahmad,
Vice President/Head of Marketing & Corporate
Communications
BMA Capital
Karachi, Pakistan
Tel: 92 21 243 0532
Fax: 92 21 243 0748
E-mail: shehryar@bmacapital.com |
