Bahrain’s Investcorp plans 2024 listing of GCC portfolio company

Bahrain’s Investcorp plans to list at least one of its portfolio companies in the GCC region in 2024, a senior executive said, as its Abu Dhabi-listed unit Investcorp Capital reported financial results.

The alternative investment firm, with around $50bn in assets under management and known for taking luxury brands public, listed Investcorp Capital on the Abu Dhabi exchange last year, defying a depressed market for initial public offerings to price at the top end of an upwardly revised range.

Hazem Ben-Gacem, co-CEO of Investcorp and vice chairman of Investcorp Capital’s board said the group is optimistic about completing at least one listing in the Gulf in the next six to 12 months.

“We will definitely take advantage of the very strong public market demand…and we have a roster of businesses that are ripe for a public listing, and we hope that we can do that in 2024,” Ben-Gacem told Reuters.

In its first-half earnings covering the six months to the end of December, Investcorp Capital declared an interim dividend yield of 9.6 per cent on an annualised basis, based on a trading price of Dhs2.09 per share.

First-half net profit fell 17 per cent year-on-year to $34m but comprehensive income at $34m was in line with the year-earlier period. Revenue from its capital financing business jumped 47 per cent.

Ben-Gacem said, without elaborating, that Investcorp could make three “meaningful” announcements in the coming weeks, including a private equity investment in the GCC countries, an infrastructure investment and an acquisition in Indonesia, likely in March.

He said Investcorp is not looking to invest in Italian football club AC Milan, with which it has been associated in media reports.

The firm recently added an infrastructure asset class and in December acquired a 50 per cent stake in the $4.8bn infrastructure business of US firm Corsair Capital.

“The (infrastructure) sector has shown great promise in recent years, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mohammed Bin Mahfoodh Alardhi, executive chairman of Investcorp and chairman of Investcorp Capital said in a statement.

Read: Middle East alternative asset manager Investcorp sets IPO price range for vehicle