The Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm, has said in a press release that it has established its first Middle East and North Africa (MENA) fund, totaling around US$500 million.
The fund will focus on investment opportunities in a broad range of industries, including energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, infrastructure, technology and transportation. The fund will primarily invest in companies on an accelerated growth curve, with solid financial histories.
According to Walid Musallam, Carlyle Managing Director, the current global economic environment presents prudent investors with opportunities to gain equity at discounted prices. He said: “We are grateful to our investors for the confidence they have placed in us. We are disciplined investors, and have been cautious about investing in the pre-global crisis environment of high valuations. The current market environment represents an opportunity for experienced investors to deploy capital at significantly more favorable valuations than existed last year. We believe we are well placed to capitalize on opportunities that offer considerable returns for our investors while minimizing downside risk. We have an excellent team of investment professionals with exceptional standards of training and experience and unparalleled insight into the markets.”
The company’s MENA team has offices in Cairo, and has already made an investment in a Turkish ship-building company, TVK Gemi Yapim Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., acquiring a 50% stake.
