Jadwa Mops Up $270 Million Scouting for Middle East Deals

Jadwa Investment, a leading investment management and advisory firm in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, has announced the first close for its first regional blind-pool private equity fund, GCC Private Equity Fund 1, with total capital commitments of $270 million.

The fund is among the largest blind-pool private equity funds regulated by the Capital Market Authority (CMA), and aims to invest in a diversified, cross-sectoral set of high-potential private equity opportunities across the GCC.

In line with its investment strategy, the fund has already completed its first three investments across the retail and food and beverage sectors, and is expected to be fully invested over a three-year deployment period.

Jadwa Investment’s Managing Director and CEO Tariq Al-Sudairy said that they have launched the region’s first blind-pool private equity fund, GCC Private Equity Fund 1. This constitutes another important milestone in the growth and development of our private equity platform, he added.

Head of Private Equity at Jadwa Investment Elie El Khoury said that GCC Private Equity Fund 1 will invest in a diversified portfolio of high-potential investments across multiple sectors in the GCC.

The The fund’s blind pool structure will enable Jadwa Investment’s clients to invest in a well-diversified and balanced manner, and will provide us with the flexibility to act quickly and transact seamlessly, he added.

While blind-pool funds are common in developed markets, private equity investments in the Middle East have traditionally been structured in the form of single-asset investment vehicles. The first close of GCC Private Equity Fund 1 builds on Jadwa’s successful track record of 16 single-asset private equity funds since Jadwa’s inception in 2007.

Jadwa, which is one of the most active Saudi-based alternative asset managers, with total client assets of about $20 billion, has previously said the fund will target investments in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.

According BNN Bloomberg, private equity fundraising in the region has picked up over the past year, with giants of the industry like BlackRock Inc. and Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. both establishing Middle East funds, while General Atlantic has opened an office in Riyadh to scout for deals.

Blind Pool Investments

Blind pools are a popular investment opportunity for those who are willing to take on a higher level of risk. It is a type of investment vehicle that is set up to raise funds for a specific purpose, such as financing a new company or acquiring an existing one.

However, unlike other types of investments, investors in a blind pool do not have any say in the specific investments that are made. Instead, they are essentially trusting the fund managers to make smart investment decisions on their behalf.