Abraaj Capital and TPG have contributed to an uptick in private equity investment in the MENA region with a sharia-compliant debt investment into Saudi Arabian fast food company Kudu.
Abraaj Capital, which manages about $9 billion, and TPG, which manages $67 billion, made the investment through a joint-venture vehicle.
The size of the investment, which was not disclosed, was reported to have valued Kudu at up to $500 million. Last year, it was reported that the private equity partners were borrowing about 700 million Saudi riyals ($187 million) to finance the acquisition.
The Kudu deal is one of several private equity transactions reported to be under way in the MENA region. Together, they could help to return the level of private equity activity in the region to its pre-financial crisis high.
In 2008, the private equity industry in the MENA region raised $6.4 billion, according to a report by consultancy KPMG. In 2013, it raised a tenth of that.
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