Investment opportunities in the Middle East have prompted French private equity firm Ardian SAS to launch an initiative to almost double its headcount at its regional base in Abu Dhabi which opened earlier this year, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Investment opportunities in the Middle East have prompted French private equity firm Ardian SAS to launch an initiative to almost double its headcount at its regional base in Abu Dhabi which opened earlier this year, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The report quotes François-Aissa Touazi, who heads up the Paris-based firm’s United Arab Emirates office, as saying in an interview that headcount will increase to about 30 during next year.
Ardian’s new recruits will include a dedicated team to look for investments in green hydrogen projects across the Middle East and North Africa, Touazi said, with the firm reportedly closing in on its first Middle Eastern hydrogen investment through its joint venture with Swiss infrastructure investor FiveT Hydrogen Hy24, after raising a $2 billion clean-tech fund last year.
The fund could announce the deal as early as next week, with the initial investment and related opportunities potentially adding up to a few hundred million dollars, Franc added without further revealing details.
