Ithmar Capital takes GCC opportunities to Germany

At SuperReturn, which runs in Frankfurt from February 20-23, Belhoul will outline the increasing private equity opportunities emerging from the shifting economic landscape of the Gulf Co-operation Council states.

Belhoul is the sole Middle East representative in a powerful speaker line-up of eminent private equity experts, which includes Philip Yea, the Chief Executive Officer of the 3i Group PLC, one of the world's leading private equity firms, and many other leading representatives of the likes of The Carlyle Group, The Blackstone Group, and Apollo Management.

"The GCC will feature prominently in the new wave of global private equity and venture capital investing, and within the region it is being increasingly utilised as a catalyst for change," said Belhoul. "It is important that global players are aware of the immense opportunities now emanating from a region where economic fundamentals are evolving perhaps as never before."

Around 1,400 senior decision-making delegates - the largest gathering of European and global investment leaders - are due at SuperReturn 2006, all seeking winning strategies for maximising returns and creating value to portfolio companies. The Middle East offers them a new vehicle for high-return investment and it is incumbent upon the regional industry to ensure the message reaches this highly influential body of professionals.

"The Middle East is now more than a domestic market; hence our message will be multi-directional. It will demonstrate how the region, where the high net-worth individual base is now growing at 28.9% a year, can be a source of capital, but also, how inbound opportunities are arising as global private equity players realise that the region represents a significant growth/ exit opportunity for their portfolio companies."

Belhoul's address will focus on the GCC, the trends and opportunities, family businesses as a source of deal flow and the key ingredients of success in the GCC - a region Ithmar Capital believes has immense potential for local and global private equity players.

"As the industry has evolved, particularly over the past two years, there is no doubt that it has grown regionally and new players are continually entering the market. However the fact of the matter is that as with every other sector and every other region, being able to demonstrate a focussed and disciplined approach in adding value to portfolio companies will ensure continuity and leadership," explained Belhoul.

"International players need to select their partners extremely carefully. They should focus on those with in-depth local knowledge, regional breadth of networking at the highest level to encourage deal flow and to avoid the pitfalls of investing in an emerging market, as well as those with a high level of integrity and reputation. Critically they need those with the professional expertise to bring quality contribution and guidance to maximise value creation and facilitate exit processes."

The currently witnessed shift in the mind-set of traditional, family-run GCC businesses is rapidly increasing the deal flow potential of the region, according to Belhoul, who himself successfully led the transformation of Dubai's Belhoul Group into a regional Asset Management Company and carving out its operating companies to be managed by private equity institutions.

"The seeking out of private equity assistance for business transformation was a rare thing in the recent past as families had a reluctance to what they viewed as 'selling out' but, increasingly, private equity is being recognised as a means of value creation," explained Belhoul.

"Succession issues are also creating another avenue for private equity intervention.

"As this mind-set increasingly takes hold, more family businesses will become institutionalised, this will result in strong management teams being put in place, increasing efficiency, restructuring of capital structures and some exits from non-core businesses, which will prepare more businesses for IPO structures or strategic sales. In many ways the GCC is largely still an untapped market."