As private equity investment in South Africa develops apace, the Middle East is not going to left behind.
Abraaj Capital, a regional private equity specialist, has said that it has sealed the largest deal struck in the Middle East and North Africa, with a $1.41bn buyout of Egyptian Fertilizers Company (via HedgeWeek). Dubai Capital Group and other regional firms have co-invested in the acquisition and Deutsche Bank advised and provided financing on the deal.
Abraaj has been at the forefront of the growth of local private equity fund-raising in the region. At the end of last year, Gulf-based groups were reported to have about $13bn of funds under management, with a forecast that this sum would rise to about $20bn by the end of 2007. The performance of Abraaj’s first buy-out fund of $116m raised in 2003 was critical in its successful efforts to raise $500m barely two years later.
But they are set for some competition. Harry Alverson, managing director at Carlyle told the FT last month that the group’s push into Middle East private equity was likely to focus on investment in higher-population countries such as Egypt and Algeria more than on oil-rich Gulf states. It expects to raise more than $700m by September.