Gulf Capital, an Abu Dhabi-based private equity firm, plans to exit two more investments in 2012 after selling its stake in Maritime Industrial Services to London-listed Lamprell Plc last month, its chief executive told Reuters. "We are looking at two more exits over the course of next year. All options are open for it exit," Gulf Capital Chief Executive Karim el Solh said in an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of a private equity conference in Dubai.
"We may look at trade buyers, a financial sale or if the initial public offering market is robust, we may take that route too." Private equity investments saw a sharp drop in the last couple of years with investors backing out of capital calls, sellers demanding higher prices than buyers were willing to pay and increasing competition from family groups hampering growth.
In July, Gulf Capital and another regional PE firm Amwal AlKhaleej sold their stakes in Maritime Industrial Services in a $336 million deal to Lamprell Plc in one of the rare private equity exits from the region. Gulf Capital, which currently has $1 billion assets under management, will also invest 50 percent of its flagship Private Equity Partners Fund II by the end of the year, Solh said, adding that the fund is currently 38 percent invested. The fund closed last year with $533 million in commitments.
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