[ad_1]
Paris-based buyout firm Ardian SAS is to open an office in Abu Dhabi to tap opportunities in a region where cash-rich sovereign wealth funds are becoming increasingly influential investors.
Ardian’s team in the UAE capital will be led by François Aissa-Touazi and will help existing portfolio companies expand regionally, building on existing partnerships with sovereign funds such as Mubadala Investment Co. It will also invest directly in companies in the Middle East and is working on two hydrogen-related deals.
“Abu Dhabi is very advanced in planning some green hydrogen projects and we will certainly be working with them to do some hydrogen development in the region,” president and founder Dominique Senequier told Bloomberg News.
Ardian, which has $25 billion in assets and $8 billion in capital in the region, will start with 10 employees in Abu Dhabi and may hire more, she said.
Ardian opens offices worldwide #Abu Dhabi. This is a critical step in providing a gateway for investments between #Europe and #UAEwhile serving our valued local and regional investors.
read more → https://t.co/yrondUi3of@ Bruno Lemaire @Mubadala pic.twitter.com/z62risTFjv
— Ardian (@Ardian) January 31, 2023
In December, Ardian, who has been active in the UAE and the region for 20 years, signed a $2.1 billion partnership with Mubadala Capital, the asset management arm of Mubadala Investment, which will involve the French company investing in the Abu Dhabi firm and working on its private placement. equity funds.
active acquirer
Sovereign wealth funds from the oil-rich Gulf region continued to be active acquirers last year, even as global deal volumes fell and banks cut lending for acquisitions.
Spurred on by cash from last year’s commodities boom and from equally ambitious neighbors such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates — which holds about 6 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves — is investing billions of dollars to make the economy Diversify away from crude oil.
By contrast, rising interest rates and the end of an era of ample liquidity left many private equity firms struggling last year after more than a decade of meteoric growth. With debt markets largely shut, many are struggling to find the financing they need to make big deals and scale returns. The performance of their portfolio companies is also affected.
Globally, Ardian manages or advises $140 billion in assets, with investments in private equity, real estate, infrastructure and credit.
In 2013, Senequier led the management buyout of French insurance company AXA SA.
Ardian began internal preparations for a possible initial public offering in 2021, as the new listing market was hot and European buyout firms began listing.
Now, “it’s very different,” Senequier said. “I don’t think it’s the right time for Ardian, the market is not good, it’s very volatile.”
[ad_2]
Source link
