Oaktree Capital Management has committed debt financing to Middle East real estate and hospitality investor Arzan Investment Management (AIM), marking a strategic push into the region’s growing private credit market, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
The backing will allow AIM to pursue acquisitions across Gulf hospitality markets, including Dubai, where it has already completed two deals worth around $400m. AIM has identified an additional $1bn in potential investments across the region.
Talal Al Bahar, AIM’s chairman, said the transaction represents “an important step in the institutionalisation of the region’s market” and underscores the Gulf’s hospitality sector appeal to global investors.
Oaktree’s involvement reflects the increasing interest among alternative asset managers in deploying private credit in the Gulf, complementing broader trends in regional capital markets. For example, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund recently anchored new private credit and public equity funds with Goldman Sachs Asset Management targeting the six GCC states.
The deal also follows Oaktree’s prior regional initiatives, including activity via its majority-owned firm 17Capital, which has sought to meet rising demand for private credit across the Middle East.
