Wednesday, Apr 11, 2012
(This story was originally published Tuesday.)
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Dubai-based Abraaj Capital, the Middle East's largest private equity firm, has agreed to invest in Kuwait Energy Co., a seven-year-old oil and gas exploration and production company.
Abraaj declined to put a value on the investment, which it agreed to make through its Abraaj Private Equity Fund IV, according to an emailed statement Tuesday.
The deal comes as Kuwait Energy gears up for an initial public offering. Sara Akbar, the company's chief executive, told Dow Jones in November that the company was looking at a dual listing in London and Kuwait, and that the money raised would fund acquisitions and help the company expand.
Kuwait Energy has operations in Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Oman, Ukraine, Latvia and Russia, the statement said.
Mustafa Abdel-Wadood, Abraaj Capital's chief executive, said the deal came amid an "increasingly positive" economic climate in the region.
"Given the continuing strong regional fundamentals, we see a very robust deal pipeline, across a range of high growth sectors moving ahead in 2012 and beyond," he said.
-By Asa Fitch, Dow Jones Newswires, +971 4 446-1685, asa.fitch@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-04-12 0355GMT
