Middle East & North Africa

Halabi mulls suing Duke Street over Esporta(3)

French bank Société Générale’s failure to syndicate a £330 million loan backing Esporta pulled the plug on the property tycoon Simon Halabi’s acquisition vehicles. Halabi is considering suing Duke Street Capital, Esporta’s previous owner, and the prior management of the company.

Sainsburys opens books to Delta Two(2)

The UK retailer could become the second FTSE100 retailer to go private after Boots Alliance. In a bid to appease its critics Delta Two has become the first fund to commit to the Walker Report's standards of transparency and disclosure.

MidOcean sells water parks to Candover for $330m(3)

Private equity firm MidOcean Partners has sold its Palace Entertainment portfolio to European amusement park operator Parques Reunidos, a Candor portfolio company, for $330 million.

Ethos and Goldman place bets on South African gaming company(3)

Ethos Private Equity, one of South Africa’s largest domestic buyout firms, and Goldman Sachs are heading a consortium to buy local casino Gold Reef Resorts, in the US investment bank’s first deal in the country.

Abraaj raises region’s largest ever fund, plans float

Abraaj Capital, the Dubai-based investment firm led by Arif Naqvi, has held a record close on its infrastructure and growth capital fund as it mulls listing on the Dubai stock exchange DIFX.

Brait picks up South African baker for R1.5bn(2)

South African merchant bank Brait has acquired domestic baker Premier Foods from the Foundation for African Business and Consumer Services for R1.5 bilion.

Report: US intelligence deems Bain buyout a national threat

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has reportedly found Bain Capital Partners’ $2.2 billion acquisition of 3Com a potential threat to security, due to involvement of a Chinese state-linked company.

PE not included in California Iran ban

The state of California has passed a law requiring that CalPERS and CalSTRS divest from companies that do business in Iran, but unlike similar bans elsewhere, private equity is not affected.

Arif Naqvi: Countdown to 2008

Arif Naqvi, Abraaj Capital's chief executive, is looking forward to 2008 and continuing to invest in the development of the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region’s basic building blocks.

StepStone nabs PCG pro(4)

StepStone, a San Diego area advisory firm founded by three ex-PCG executives including its former president, has hired PCG’s former head of research, Jay Rose. Rose is the sixth former PCG employee to move across town to StepStone.