Deals
The Firm That Wrecked Private Equity for the Middle East
Arif Naqvi’s Abraaj Group collapsed in Dubai and left the entire region with almost no deals.
Dubai International Financial Center.
Photographer: Jasper Juinen/Bloomberg
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The downfall of Abraaj Group didn’t just kill the private equity firm Arif Naqvi built in Dubai. It ruined the entire market.
Since Abraaj’s swift and spectacular demise was set in motion almost two years ago when investors like Bill Gates got suspicious, virtually no money has been raised by private equity firms based in the Gulf Cooperation Council despite strong performance almost everywhere else, according to Seattle-based data provider PitchBook and London-based Preqin.