RIYADH: The Dubai-based private equity group Abraaj Capital, which has raised about $7 billion since its establishment in 2002, announced yesterday the opening of its office here in the Kingdom.
The team of eight, headed by Executive Director Sari Maher Anabtawi, will work to identify new investment opportunities as well as work with existing Abraaj partner-companies to grow their business in the Kingdom and the region.
Abraaj Capital is the largest private equity group outside Europe and North America, and invests in the growing Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region. Since its founding, it has distributed almost $3 billion to investors. It has made more than 35 investments in 11 countries and exited 20. The group operates offices in five countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey. More than 150 world-class professionals of 27 different nationalities work at Abraaj.
"The opportunities to invest in Saudi Arabia are immense given the Kingdom's position in the MENA region and its relative insulation from the global economic downturn," said Arif Naqvi, Abraaj's founder and chief executive officer.
"Whether in transportation, logistics, food, healthcare or education, demand is growing and under-served in terms of existing supply, driven by population expansion and fresh government policies that encourage private investment."
Naqvi said his executives had worked in the Kingdom since the 1990s. In 2005, Saudi investors of Abraaj bought a stake in National Air Services (NAS), helping it secure the Kingdom's first private passenger-airline license. They sold the stake last year, generating an internal rate of return of 52 percent
"Many of our investors come from Saudi Arabia," said Sari Maher Anabtawi, country head of Abraaj in the Kingdom who brings 20 years of banking and finance experience to his role. "They have long been loyal to us and we are loyal to them. Keeping them constantly updated in these challenging times and aware of the opportunities is integral to our business."
Through its funds, Abraaj holds stakes in more than 25 companies in the MENA region, including Tadawi, Saudi Arabia's largest pharmaceutical wholesaler and retailer; Air Arabia, the Middle East's largest low-cost carrier; Acibadem, Turkey's biggest operator of premium hospitals; and Al-Borg Laboratory, the Middle East's biggest medical-testing laboratory company.
