Private equity investors have purchased a stake in a leading regional business resource and news provider, fund representatives said.

"We are very pleased to be investing in AME Info," said David Price, director of HSBC Private Equity Middle East.

"AME Info is one of the most recognised business brands in the region and it has a proven track record across the Middle East. Our investment is intended to provide a strong institutional platform for the company's further growth in the region," Price said.

Although the private equity market in the region remains modest, HSBC is seeing an increasing flow of interesting investment opportunities such as this one, he said.

"The involvement of HSBC increases our range of opportunities. We now have the support and involvement of one of the world's leading financial institutions as a major shareholder," said Klaus Lovgreen, chief executive of AME Info.

AME Info is the fourth investment made by HSBC Private Equity Middle East in the past nine months.

HSBC Private Equity Middle East Limited is the private equity arm of the HSBC group in the region.

It is the general partner and investment manager of a $118 million fund (Dh433.06 million) dedicated to private equity opportunities in the Gulf.

The fund is the largest private equity fund in the Gulf and remains the only private equity fund for the region backed by a major international group, fund representatives said.