Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Siraj Holding LLC, a private investment firm chaired by Mr. Ahmed Khalaf Al Otaiba, has partnered with AWR Lloyd Limited, a strategy consultancy led by Mr. Alexander James Wood, with a plan to offer advisory services to clients in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa via a new joint venture, ‘AWR Lloyd Gulf Partners’, to be headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (‘UAE’).

AWR Lloyd is a Strategy Consulting, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) and Project Advisory firm, ranked last year by the Financial Times as the 9th fastest-growing consulting firm in Asia-Pacific. AWR Lloyd has a 25-year track record advising blue-chip corporates, family businesses and public sector clients, with a primary focus on energy, infrastructure, real estate and technology sectors. Ambassador Udaya Indrarathna, a distinguished Sri Lankan diplomat and consultant, has been instrumental in the formation of the new venture, and will become one of its founding shareholders and directors.

AWR Lloyd Gulf Partners will offer a full suite of specialist professional services currently offered by AWR Lloyd in Asia-Pacific. Strategy Consulting services include shareholder value maximization, new market entry strategy, restructuring, best practice investor relations and ESG, sustainability transformation and crisis resiliency. In M&A: due diligence, buy-side investment and sell-side equity transaction advisory.

Mr. Ahmed Khalaf Al Otaiba, Group Chairman of Siraj Holding, and a member of the prominent Al Otaiba family, commented: “We are excited to diversify into strategy consulting with AWR Lloyd. The firm has demonstrated its ability to challenge the dominance of mainstream consulting and investment banking firms in the Asia-Pacific region. We will now work with AWR Lloyd to offer value-add advisory services to major corporations and public sector clients in Middle East, Turkey, and Africa.”

Mr. Mohamed Rusan Fyroze, Group CEO of Siraj Holding and incoming Director of AWR Gulf Partners, added: "Siraj Holding has built a strong presence in the UAE’s non-banking Islamic financial services and Takaful (Insurance) sectors through group entities Siraj Finance PJSC and YAS Takaful PJSC, both regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE. Building on this foundation, the group is now expanding into strategic consultancy and M&A advisory services, compliant with Sharia principles, through a partnership with AWR Lloyd."

Alexander Wood, CEO and co-founder of AWR Lloyd responded: “It is a great honor to partner with the Al Otaiba Group and Ambassador Udaya in this region. In recent years, we managed assignments during the pandemic in the UAE and Iraq for major energy construction projects and have worked for some of the region’s largest energy and infrastructure groups in relation to their Asia M&A strategies. We now look forward to deepening and broadening our presence here”. 

About Siraj Holding

The private investment firm Siraj Holding was established in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in 2019. Founded by Ahmed Khalaf Al Otaiba, it operates as a holding company and is a preferred partner for institutional investors, governments and multinational corporations. Key areas of interest for Siraj Holding include financial services, Takaful, technology, hospitality, energy, real estate, telecommunications, and investments. The firm’s mission is to contribute to the sustainable development of economies in the GCC by creating market-leading businesses. www.sirajholding.ae

About AWR Lloyd

AWR Lloyd was established in Paris in 2000 by former Banque Paribas investment bankers and re-established in Hong Kong in 2002. AWR Lloyd has offices and teams in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and India. Over the years, the firm has advised bluechip corporates from across the world including Chevron, Saudi Aramco, Masdar, Ronesans, SK, Hyundai, Sojitz, Toyoto Tsuho, PTT, Petronas, PetroVietnam, PTT, Banpu, Gulf Energy, Swedish Space Corp and Tata Steel, as well as public sector clients such as the Asian Development Bank, the UN, the US Department of State and the Thailand Ministry of Science & Technology. www.awrlloyd.com

About Ambassador Udaya Indrarathna

Ambassador Udaya recently concluded his tenure as Sri Lankan Ambassador to the UAE and to the Republic of Iraq. Prior to his ambassadorship, he had a long and distinguished career in senior management (including at Ajlan Bros Holding, a Riyadh headquartered international conglomerate) and public sector advisory (including to the governments of Abu Dhabi and Dubai). He has won many awards including the Pride of UAE 2024 Award (Dubai, UAE), Icon Award 2023 (Dallas, Texas, USA), Good Fellow Award 2023 (London, UK) and Lifetime Family Business Award 2021 (Monaco).