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Press Releases |
SHUAA Partners announces the final closing of its first private equity fund at US$ 200 million Dubai, UAE - September 15th, 2005 - SHUAA Partners, the private equity arm of the leading regional investment banking institution SHUAA Capital psc, announced today the final closing of SHUAA Partners Fund I, L.P., with total commitments of US$ 200 million. The fund held its first closing at US$ 160 million at the end of June 2005. "We are very pleased with the response we have received from our investors. There is an increased interest in private equity as an asset class in the Middle East, by both institutions and 'high net worth' individuals" said Mr. Iyad Duwaji, Chief Executive Officer of SHUAA Capital and Investment Committee member of SHUAA Partners. "SHUAA Partners will build on a long and distinguished track record of successful transactions in the Arab markets by SHUAA Capital and will follow a disciplined and rigorous investment approach to source, execute, create value and exit its investments" he added. The primary objective of SHUAA Partners Fund I, L.P. is to achieve capital appreciation through selected direct equity, debt and/or equity-related investments in the GCC and neighboring countries, including pre-IPO situations. The fund will generally focus on acquiring a sufficient interest in established businesses so that it is able to exercise significant influence over the performance of its investments. SHUAA Partners will actively participate on the board of its portfolio companies and will work diligently to "add value" by partnering with management. Mr. Ibrahim ("Abe") Saad, Managing Director of SHUAA Partners stated: "Our fundraising effort has gone extremely well in that we significantly exceeded our original fund target size of US$ 150 million. Our focus now turns to generating superior investment returns to our limited partners. We have an extensive list of transactions in the pipeline, one of which might be announced as soon as next month." On June 8, 2005 SHUAA Partners closed its first transaction by acquiring a 10% stake in Damas, the UAE's leading jewelry retailer and distributor.
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