Abraaj Capital rights issue raises $375m

Group CEO Arif Naqvi took a bullish stance on the firm’s prospects, claiming that the impact of the global downturn on it had been “minimal”, and that long-term prospects were “probably better than at any point in the past.”

The proceeds will be used to seeding new funds, as well as the possible execution of various strategic opportunities to expand the Abraaj group’s sphere of operations, according to the company. Abraaj targets mid-market transactions of between $100m and $300m in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA).

Sheikh Abdulrahman as Turki, chairman of Abraaj Capital, said, “The success of the rights issue, with its focus on raising strategic capital, stands in contrast to the current global fundraising environment. On a consolidated basis, the investment portfolio of the funds Abraaj manages is healthy on account of robust performance of our portfolio companies. Most of these operate in defensive or growth-oriented industries that are less impacted by the recession.”

Abraaj claims to be the largest private equity firm in the MENASA region, and is reportedly  setting up a new 42bn fund to take advantage of valuations in the current buyer’s market. In 2007, the firm completed a $1.41bn acquisition of Egyptian Fertilzers, the North Africa nation’s largest ever leveraged buy-out.

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