ADQ, IHC to create Mena’s largest investment manager

ADQ and International Holding Company (IHC) announced on Monday their intention to create the region’s largest multi-asset class investment manager, to be headquartered in Abu Dhabi.

Upon its launch, the investment manager will manage a portfolio of assets from ADQ’s Alternative Investments platform, Abu Dhabi Growth Fund (ADG) and IHC as well as fresh capital from founding shareholders and future investors to deploy globally. It is expected that all ADQ, ADG and IHC’s capital earmarked for alternative investments will be deployed by the new investment manager. General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, will join as a strategic investor and partner.

The investment manager, through a series of new funds, will make investments in alternative assets, including private equity, venture capital, private credit and public equities. It will invest through a combination of LP commitments to top tier global funds (i.e., fund of funds strategy), direct investments (incl. Private Equity and Venture Capital), credit and co-investments.

Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, Managing Director and CEO of ADQ, said, “Today’s announcement demonstrates our intention to create the largest independent alternative investment manager from the region that will serve global markets, with a clear remit to maximise long-term returns. Together with IHC, we will consolidate investment talent, expertise, and capabilities with scale and firepower to deliver long-term value in a rapidly evolving market.”

The investment philosophy of the manager will be underpinned by a fundamentally driven, high conviction approach to invest across multiple sectors and geographies to achieve superior risk adjusted returns for its investors. The funds will invest across the capital structure and asset life cycle, covering early-stage venture capital to growth and scale-up equity, through to mature and established businesses.

Commenting on the joint venture Syed Basar Shueb, CEO of IHC, said, “Research is showing the global market for alternative investments will continue to grow in the next five years. With these positive indicators, we believe there is a compelling opportunity to invest at scale. There is no doubt this new joint venture will enable the new investment manager to access a diversified regional and global pipeline of investments, manage long-term capital on behalf of its investors, and become a leading institutional investor and partner of choice.” The investment manager will leverage the existing valued relationships and partnerships with global GPs that ADQ, ADG and IHC have nurtured and will benefit from having continuity in key areas of the investment strategy and team.

At launch, the investment manager will manage funds on behalf of its founding shareholders, ADQ and IHC, and is structured to enable it to raise and manage third party capital, including from institutional investors, pension funds, family offices, and other private and public firms. The new company will bring genuine scale and a proprietary pipeline of global investment opportunities.

The investment manager will establish its primary hub in Abu Dhabi, with the intention of adding further international offices in North America, Europe and Asia. It will be led by a highly experienced investment team drawn from ADQ’s Alternative Investments platform, ADG and IHC.

In September 2022, International Holding Company (IHC) announced the completion of a 54% stake acquisition in Emircom, the Middle East’s leading information and communications technology (ICT) provider, through its subsidiary, IHC Digital.

This Dhs250 million transaction comes as part of the IHC’s group-wide strategy to grow its digital assets portfolio and expand into new growth areas.

For nearly four decades, Emircom has been the ICT partner of choice for many of the most challenging projects in the Middle East, servicing a wide customer base such as service providers, governments, educational institutes, finance houses, and health care organisations.

Syed Basar Shueb, IHC’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “We shall continue to seek further acquisitions in different industries, including the ICT area, building on our well-established track record of acquiring high-value and profitable investments that benefit our shareholders in the short- and long-term. This acquisition of a majority stake in Emircom will help IHC Digital to continue deepening its profitability and depth in the sector.”

Hussain Jasim Al Nowais, Chairman of Al Nowais Investments and Emircom’s shareholder, said, “This acquisition brings a new dimension to Emircom, as well as adds further scale to our business growth plans in the Middle East market. It is testament to the Emircom team that we have received such a strong endorsement from IHC Digital, a key strategic subsidiary of International Holding Company. We are delighted our partnership will be further enhanced following this acquisition.”

Established in 1984, Emircom has strategic partnerships with many prominent players in the ICT segment, including Cisco and Oracle as a Gold Certified Partner, Dell as a Titanium Partner, as well as Palo Alto, Fortinet, F5, Software AG, Microsoft, SAS, Huawei, Schneider and HP.

WAM