New Delhi, Sept. 8 -- BlueFive Capital, an Abu Dhabi-based asset management firm that manages assets worth over $2.6 billion (around Rs 22,900 crore), has partnered with Saudi Arabia's multibillion dollar family business conglomerate Al Murjan Group in a cross-shareholding arrangement to launch a global platform for Islamic finance.

As part of the deal, the two firms will acquire reciprocal ownership stakes in their respective Sharia-compliant asset management units. While BlueFive will acquire a substantial minority stake in Al-Murjan owned Sidra Capital, Al Murjan will acquire a substantial minority stake in BlueFive786.

With the partnership, the two sides will also support joint product development and co-branded investment vehicles.

Sidra Capital is a Sharia-compliant asset manager that specializes in private assets and is regulated by the Saudi Capital Market Authority, the Dubai Financial Services Authority, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Jeddah, Sidra manages $3.6 billion in assets under management AUM and operates out of additional offices in Riyadh, Dubai, London, and Singapore.

Meanwhile, BlueFive786 is BlueFive's newly launched Singapore-headquartered Sharia-compliant investment arm. It aims to offer investment products, such as retirement and saving schemes, to savers and retirees predominantly in the Southeast Asian countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Brunei and Singapore.

As part of the transaction, BlueFive will open an office in Riyadh and operate jointly alongside Sidra Capital, in managing and undertaking investments in Saudi Arabia.

With that, the BlueFive Capital founder and chief executive Hazem Ben-Gacem, and BlueFive co-founder Yasser Bajsair will join the board of directors of Sidra Capital, while Taufiq Bahamdain, CEO of Al Murjan Group; and Shahid Shaikh, a board member in Al Murjan Group, will join the board of BlueFive786.

"By combining Sidra Capital's established expertise and deep roots in the GCC with BlueFive's innovative platform and access to Southeast Asia's dynamic markets, we are creating a powerful conduit for cross-border ethical investment," said Bahamdain.

BlueFive's background

Founded by former Investcorp executive Ben Gacem, Bluefive Capital operates three parallel entities--BlueFive Financial, BlueFive Asset Management, and BlueFive Advisory. The investment firm, which counts Bahrain's sovereign entity Mumtalakat Holding Company as among its more than 25 shareholders, has offices in Manama, London, Beijing, and Abu Dhabi. It recently closed a debut strategic acquisition of Neo Capital.

This July, BlueFive Capital raised $2 billion (around Rs 17,600 crore) for the GCC PE fund named BlueFive Reef Private Equity Fund I, which is targeting large-cap private equity investments in the region. In its inaugural deal, it fully acquired Wusoom Holding that runs companies and owns minority investments in high-growth businesses across sectors.

Last month, BlueFive partnered with a Chinese investment firm CICC Capital to launch a joint private equity fund to back Chinese entities with Gulf expansion plans.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.