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MBO at Barclays Natural Resource Investments creates new PE firm GNRI  

A new private equity firm, created through a management buyout from Barclays, is looking to open up new growth investment opportunities in natural resources.

Following the deal, Barclays Natural Resource Investments (BNRI) is now Global Natural Resource Investments (GNRI) an independent, private equity firm, which will build on the existing management team’s strong expertise and proven track record in successfully managing natural resource investment opportunities globally over the last nine years.
 
Barclays will not be selling any of its existing investments as part of the acquisition. An investment advisory mandate between GNRI and Barclays has been agreed under which GNRI will continue to administer the existing investment portfolios of Barclays and GNRI’s other investment partners.
 
The GNRI business has historically committed more than USD3 billion of equity and is currently advising on USD1.7 billion of capital commitments and 15 existing portfolio companies. GNRI currently has undrawn capital commitments in excess of USD800 million. The GNRI business will operate out of a UK office in London and a Qatar office in Doha.
 
Mark Brown, Chief Executive and Managing Partner of GNRI, says: “Our team’s successful investment track record has been established over the last nine years by consistently identifying and partnering with world-class management teams in the natural resources sector. This strategy has produced, and we believe will continue to produce, strong returns for our investment partners. As an independent manager, we believe there is a demand for a private equity business that is focused on global natural resources, excluding upstream oil and gas in the US. In addition, we believe that the requirement for private equity capital in the global natural resources sector is stronger than ever and the current volatility in commodity prices is creating a positive back-drop for patient private equity.
 
“We look forward to working with our investor partners and management teams for many years to come and would like to thank Barclays for providing us with both the support to build the business over many years and the opportunity to acquire the business and create an independent private equity business focused on global natural resources.”
 
Francesco Ceccato, Head of Barclays Strategy & Corporate Development, says: “BNRI has been a profitable business and has made a good contribution to Barclays since 2006. Over this time, it has built a valuable reputation and business and the sale of the BNRI platform to the management to create GNRI allows Barclays to realise value for all of our stakeholders and allows the business to develop further outside Barclays’ ownership.
 
“We are committed to the existing portfolio being managed over time to preserve and enhance value, as this is in both our and our stakeholders’ best interests.”

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