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Private equity firm General Atlantic is launching a new investment group with Abu Dhabi State Fund and the emirate’s largest listed company, underscoring the oil-rich Gulf state’s continued pull on Wall Street.
The new investment firm will manage a range of assets from ADQ, the Abu Dhabi Growth Fund and International Holdings, a once small company that now trades on UAE securities after four years of explosive share price growth occupying a dominant position.
In a statement on Monday, ADQ and IHC said the firm was expected to manage funds they and another sovereign fund, ADG, earmarked for alternative assets, including private equity, venture capital and credit.
ADQ chief executive Mohamed Alsuwaidi said the plan “shows our intention to create the largest independent alternative investment manager in the region”.
General Atlantic, which has previously invested in technology companies such as Alibaba and Airbnb, will be a “strategic investor and partner” in the new company, the statement said, without providing further details.
The name of the company and the size of the assets it will manage were not disclosed, but its structure reflects the blurred lines between state and private assets in Abu Dhabi.
ADQ and IHC, a public company linked to Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, are run by Sheikh Tanu bin Zayed Al Nahyanthe UAE’s powerful national security adviser and brother of the country’s president.
ADQ is getting active state car, aiming to invest primarily in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. At the same time, IHC’s market capitalization has risen astonishingly, confounding bankers in the region. Much of the value increase stemmed from the transfer of assets from another Abu Dhabi conglomerate, the Royal Group, IHC said.
Fueled by high commodity prices and determined to diversify their oil-dependent economies, the Gulf state has long been a magnet for Wall Street firms.
In addition to ADQ, IHC and ADG, the new firm also aims to manage capital from third parties, such as institutional investors and family offices. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, the company eventually intends to manage offices in North America, Europe and Asia.
General Atlantic chief executive and chairman William Ford said the new company would “play an important role in strengthening Abu Dhabi’s position as an emerging global financial center.”
New York-based General Atlantic, which manages $72 billion in assets, tends to take minority stakes in private companies, in contrast to rivals such as Blackstone Group and KKR that are known for taking public companies private.
In recent years, General Atlantic has rapidly expanded its overall investment platform. Last October, it bought a credit investment manager and launched its own lending business called General Atlantic Credit. It is also targeting rapid growth in the Middle East, aiming to attract new assets and discover investment.
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