Abu Dhabi to invest $6bn in French buyout fund

WAM

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the UAE’s largest sovereign wealth fund, has agreed to invest $6 billion in a new buyout fund launched by French private equity firm Ardian.

Ardian has collected more than $20 billion for a secondary fund that aims to buy stakes in private equity funds from investors that opt to sell early, the Financial Times reported.

The Paris-based group, which manages $150 billion in total, is seeking to raise $25 billion for its secondary fund.

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Ardian opened an office at Abu Dhabi Global Market on Al Maryah Island in January, to serve local and regional investors and support its portfolio of companies expanding into the region.

“Our new office in the United Arab Emirates is, therefore, a natural progression as we continue with our strategy to evolve and grow globally,” said Ardian president Dominique Senequier.

The French group has been active in the Gulf for two decades, managing $25 billion assets under management from more than 60 investors and $8 billion of capital deployed in the region.

The value of deals by secondary funds has risen sharply in recent years. It reached $105 billion in 2022, five times the size recorded a decade ago, according to investment bank Raymond James.

Secondary funds have raised 40 percent more money year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023, the newspaper said citing research firm PitchBook data.