Abraaj Capital, the leading private equity firm in the Middle East and North Africa, announced the appointment of Mustafa Abdel-Wadood as a Managing Director and member of the Board of Directors with immediate effect.
Mr. Abdel-Wadood joins Abraaj with broad management, investment banking and corporate finance experience from EFG Hermes, where he served as CEO for the UAE and previously as the Managing Director of Investment Banking, EFG Hermes Egypt. During his time at EFG Hermes he has been associated with many successful transactions including public listing of Vodafone Egypt, rights issue of Olympic Group and acquisition of Sidi Krier power plant by CDC Globeleq. Mr. Abdel-Wadood also served for 8 years with Orascom Group as Director Business Development and Investment.
Arif Naqvi, CEO and Executive Vice-Chairman of Abraaj Capital said:" The appointment of Mustafa Abdel-Wadood as a Managing Director highlights our ongoing commitment to excellence in the field of private equity and to strengthen our leadership position across the region. Mustafa has remarkable credentials and is a well-recognized name in the investment banking and corporate community of the Arab World. In addition to his management expertise, he has been involved in numerous landmark transactions across different sectors. We are extremely pleased to welcome him on board.”
Commenting on his appointment, Mustafa Abdel-Wadood said, “I look forward to joining the world-class team at Abraaj Capital. The firm has an excellent franchise and track record as the leading private equity player in the region. The opportunity to work with the team towards the next phase of growth is very exciting.”
About Abraaj Capital: The first pure private equity firm licensed to operate in the Dubai International Financial Centre, Abraaj Capital is the leading asset management firm in the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia region. It has US$1.5billion of assets under management. The firm’s primary expertise is in private equity buyouts, strategic minority block positions in public enterprises and real estate investments within the region. As a recognition of its operating excellence and regional expertise, Abraaj received the ‘Middle Eastern Private Equity Firm of the Year’ award from Private Equity International in March 2006. In addition, it has received the ‘Best Private Equity House’ award from the Banker Middle East in May 2006.
The executive directors of the firm have a long history of working together and are associated with some of the landmark private equity transactions in the region such as the acquisition and subsequent exit from Aramex, - the first and largest leveraged transaction in the region Inchcape Middle East and privatisation of Jordan Aircraft Maintenance Company (JorAMCo) by the Government of Jordan, for more information please visit www.abraaj.com
