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BlueFive Capital, an Abu Dhabi-based firm founded by private equity veteran Hazem Ben-Gacem, has raised $2 billion for its first fund — double its initial target — making it one of the largest investment vehicles focused on the Gulf.
BlueFive Reef Private Equity Fund I will invest in healthcare, technology, hospitality, aviation, and industrial businesses in the Gulf, according to a statement. The fund was closed in under six months, drawing largely from private investors in the Middle East, according to a person familiar with the deal.
The fund expands the “the private equity marketplace” in the region and gives the firm the capital needed to “support establishing global leaders that are originating from the GCC,″ Ben-Gacem said in the statement.
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Ben-Gacem established BlueFive last year after he left Bahrain-based Investcorp as part of a management reshuffle following a three-decade career with the region’s largest privately-held alternative asset manager.
The large fund raise is the latest sign of investor appetite for private equity exposure in the Gulf. Investors are betting that diversification plans and more open economies will help drive a wave of deals across industries in the region. Global firms including Brookfield, BlackRock, and I Squared Capital have announced dedicated regional vehicles in the past 18 months.