MerchantBridge, a direct investment and private equity company focused on the Middle East, has joined forces with UBS Global Asset Management to form a joint venture called MerchantBrid
MerchantBridge, a direct investment and private equity company focused on the Middle East, has joined forces with UBS Global Asset Management to form a joint venture called MerchantBridge-UBS Private Equity.
The joint venture will develop and manage a series of private equity investment strategies focused on the Middle East region and will be based in Dubai.
The joint venture’s first strategy will focus on making direct investments in a broad range of sectors including oil and gas services, financial services, and light and medium industries.
It expects to initiate this strategy in first quarter 2009, targeting USD500m in investments and seeded with USD80m, USD40m from each joint venture partner.
Basil Al Rahim, founder and managing partner of MerchantBridge and newly appointed chief executive of MerchantBridge-UBS Private Equity, says: ‘The Middle East region is experiencing tremendous expansion supported by sound macroeconomic fundamentals. This expansion is offering important opportunities to invest in private businesses across the region.’
John Fraser, chairman and chief executive of UBS Global Asset Management and chairman of UBS Saudi Arabia, says: ‘The recent success of our infrastructure business has provided a great platform for us to expand our alternative offering into private equity. The success of UBS’s existing relationship with MerchantBridge in the Middle East meant they were our ideal choice when we decided to expand into this asset class in the region.’
