Istithmar buys 3% in London hedge fund

Dubai: Dubai investment firm Istithmar said yesterday it has bought a three per cent stake in London-based hedge fund GLG Partners.

Noam Gottesman, CEO of GLG, said the company has plans to grow in the Middle East. "We look forward to working with Istithmar to provide world-class asset management products and services to clients in the region," he said in a joint statement.

Istithmar vice-chairman Khalid Al Kamda said his company will assist GLG in having a presence in the Middle East.

GLG, one of Europe's leading but occasionally controversial funds, said it has more than $20 billion in assets under management.

Istithmar, which is acquiring luxury specialty retailer Barneys New York from Jones Apparel Group for $825 million, did not say how much it is paying for the GLG stake. The transaction is subject to certain regulatory conditions.

Set up in 2003 with a capital of $2 billion, Istithmar has invested $1.6 billion in equity in about 30 companies in the consumer, industrial and financial services sectors. The company's leisure and real estate divisions have also made huge investments.

At the beginning of this year, Istithmar's portfolio included about 40 companies with a value of $14 billion. Its equity investment last year was more than $1 billion and the value of assets was about $6 billion.

"In terms of equity we will be investing $1.5 billion, and at enterprise value it is probably $5 billion," Istithmar CEO David Jackson told Gulf News earlier this year.

Istithmar grew 30 per cent in 2006 and hopes to grow at the same rate this year too.