Bahrain's alternative investment manager Investcorp said it secured funds from HarbourVest for its Middle East and North Africa private equity investment portfolio.
Investcorp signed a structured secondary transaction with Harbourvest to inject liquidity into its existing $866 million Mena private equity investment portfolio, the company said. The deal will entail an additional $70m of new capital for follow-ons and up to a further $60m for new investments.
"Our experience through secondary market transactions and creation of a buyout fund in Europe gives us credibility and confidence to be the pioneers of this investment strategy in the region," said Hazem Ben-Gacem, Investcorp’s co-chief executive officer.
Since its establishment in 1982, Investcorp has completed over 185 private equity deals in the US, Europe, the Mena region and Asia, across a range of sectors including retail and consumer products, technology, business services and industrials.
The new transaction is subject to the relevant regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Investcorp will maintain an interest in the portfolio and Investcorp’s Mena private equity team will continue to manage the portfolio, the company said.
“We are pleased to continue the strong partnership we have developed with Investcorp," David Atterbury, managing director of HarbourVest Partners, said. "This complex secondary transaction highlights our ability to work with partners to create innovative liquidity solutions that can benefit multiple parties.”
In January 2019, Investcorp signed two similar deals for its European private equity assets. One was the sale of two portfolio companies in Investcorp's Technology Partners Fund to a continuation vehicle supported by HarbourVest. The other was a secondary private equity transaction that included the sale of some of its European private equity portfolio to Coller Capital and the creation of a new buyout fund.
