Page 64 - Aamir Rehman Gulf Capital and Islamic Finance The Rise of the New Global Players

2 CHAPTER

Entrusted Stewards: The

Landscape of Gulf-Based

Investors

Not all Gulf capital is the same. Although international headlines often lump
“Middle Eastern” or Gulf investors into a single broad category, the reality
is far more nuanced. Over time, professionals who work with Gulf-based
institutions come to appreciate the differences between various types of Gulf
investors—differences in scale, objectives, capabilities, and investment
styles. The monolith of “Gulf capital” fades away, and a more contoured
landscape of institutions becomes visible.
Some organizations, however, learn this lesson the hard way. In the
mid-2000s, an international (non-Gulf) company was raising capital and
had offers in hand from two Gulf-based investors. One was a relatively newly
created institution with a dynamic brand, a flashy Web site, and a strong PR
machine. Representatives of this institution wooed the potential portfolio
company with slick presentations and a well-crafted pitch. The second offer
was from a leading sovereign wealth fund with a far more understated
approach. Although this fund was often written about, it had no substantial
Web site or Internet presence. While its reputation was strong, the fund said
little about the size of its portfolio or its strategy. When its representatives
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