Citadel Capital to open office in Dubai

The office, a component of the firm's ongoing effort to expand its institutional fundraising, will be headed by global financial veteran Stephen A. Murphy.

Until recently European Head of Private Placements at Citigroup Global Markets, Murphy has over 20 years of experience in private equity fundraising and investment banking.

His expertise and vast network of relationships in Europe, the United States and the Gulf make Murphy the ideal executive to help Citadel Capital expand its institutional fundraising.

'The new office will serve multiple roles,' says Citadel Capital Chairman Ahmed Heikal. 'We wanted to have an office on the ground in the GCC out of Dubai. This is primarily for fundraising and communication with our investor base, but we would also like our presence there to serve as a listening post to keep us closer to the developments happening not only in Dubai and the UAE, but also in the Gulf at large.

'Given the growth that has been taking place in Dubai and the number of global investment banks and financial institutions that are now based there, a permanent presence is a good strategic move for the firm,' he adds.

Murphy will use the Dubai office as headquarters for Citadel Capital's new global fundraising efforts.

'To lead our diversification beyond the Gulf, we needed someone of the right caliber who knows large blue chip institutions and can help us build long-term relationships with these important investors. Stephen is ideal for this role and we are very pleased to have him on board,' says Heikal.

An Irish national, Murphy held a range of positions with Salomon Brothers / Salomon Smith Barney in New York, Tokyo and London starting in 1985.

Originally a mergers and acquisitions specialist who headed Salomon's European M&A practice in the early 1990s, Murphy's career has covered a wide range of advisory as well as public and private fundraising activities.

Over the past seven years, he headed a team responsible for raising over $30 billion for both general partners and private companies.

Before re-joining Citigroup in 2001, he held the post of Managing Director of E*Trade International Capital, where he was, among other things, responsible for setting up the company's online distribution of equity offerings via its web portal.

'I have been privileged to work with some of the most successful private equity investors in the world and I believe Citadel Capital ranks among the very best of these both in terms of the compelling fundamentals for its countries of focus and the partners' ethos and approach to private equity investing,' says Murphy.

'We expect to have the Dubai office up and running within the coming nine months. The Dubai team that Stephen is heading will consist of some existing members of the Citadel Capital team in Cairo as well new hires,' Heikal notes.

Citadel Capital already has an office in Algiers, Algeria, and has plans to open other offices in key markets including Syria and Sudan in the coming years.