New Delhi, Aug. 4 -- BlueFive Capital, an Abu Dhabi-based asset management firm founded by a former Investcorp executive last year, has roped in Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund as a general partner, the firm announced on Monday.
The Gulf and Global South-focused asset management firm, which manages assets worth over $2.6 billion (approximately Rs 22,780 crore), said that Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, or Mumtalakat, has acquired a stake in the firm.
This follows BlueFive Capital's Founding Shareholders Circle last month, which closed with an oversubscription and valued the company at $120 million. Mumtalakat joins 25 Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and global investors backing the firm.
"Welcoming Mumtalakat as one of our anchor shareholders is both a milestone and a strong statement of confidence in our vision and capabilities. This partnership provides stability and credibility as we accelerate our global expansion," said BlueFive chairman Sheikh Mohamed Isa Al Khalifa, the former CEO of Bahrain's national pension fund.
The firm said that Mumtalakat's investment underscores the sovereign investor's commitment to supporting emerging financial players.
The firm recently acquired a Dubai-based real estate investment platform, Neo Capital, in its debut strategic transaction.
BlueFive had also convened its inaugural board meeting in Bahrain earlier this year, with board members representing the firm's focus geographies, which are the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and China.
Sheikh Mubarak Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah and Lord Gerry Grimstone were appointed as vice chairmen for a three-year mandate. Grimstone is a former chairman of Barclays Bank and Standard Life Aberdeen, and former UK Minister for Investment, and Al-Sabah is the vice-chairman of Action Group Holdings, Kuwait.
Asset management
The firm, founded by former Investcorp executive Hazem Ben-Gacem, recently closed its inaugural private-equity fund of $2 billion, called the BlueFive Reef Private Equity Fund I, which is targeting large-cap private equity investments in the region. With its first deal, it fully acquired Wusoom Holding, which has a diversified group of companies across the fast-growing real estate, technology, hospitality, aviation, and industrial sectors in GCC. The fund, registered with the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), will focus on on five key sectors such as healthcare, technology, hospitality, aviation, and industrials.
Ben-Gacem had stepped down after 30 years at Investcorp in September. He had joined Investcorp in 1994 and led private equity investments across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and China.
The asset-management firm, with offices in Manama, London, Beijing, and Abu Dhabi, aims to deploy capital in the financial services industry through strategies including private equity and real assets. Its focus areas include digitization and technology-led opportunities in the financial services space, focusing on key investment themes, mainly private equity and real assets.
BlueFive has a 25-person investment team spanning London, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Beijing.
It operates three parallel entities, which are BlueFive Financial, BlueFive Asset Management, and BlueFive Advisory.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.