Investcorp is a global manager of alternative investment products, for private and institutional clients. Its principal client base is in the six countries of the Gulf Co-operation Council, but it also has institutional clients in North America and Europe. It has offices in New York City, Bahrain, London, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Singapore .
The company offers investments in corporate investment, real estate, credit management and alternative investment solutions, and has arranged investments with a combined value of approximately $53 billion. It typically places the private equity of companies and real estate properties it acquires directly with investors on a deal-by-deal basis and through a fund structure. In addition, the firm operates the Gulf Opportunity Fund investing in the MENA region, and a number of technology funds. Since its inception in 1982, Investcorp has made over 170 corporate investments in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East and North Africa region, including Turkey, across a range of sectors including retail and consumer products, technology, business services and industrials, and more than 400 commercial and residential real estate investments in the US, for in excess of $53 billion in transaction value. The company diversified in 1997 into hedge funds. Non-Gulf investors, mainly in the US, now account for around two-thirds of Investcorp’s hedge fund client assets under management, with $1 billion in new US hedge fund mandates being secured in 2009.
Investcorp currently has approximately $21.3Â ;billion in invested assets under management across its four asset classes. In 2011, it ranked 67th in the PEI300 (Private Equity Index 300) ranking of private equity firms by assets deployed, with $4.68bn invested in private equity over the previous five years.(subscription required)
The company maintains relationships with over 1,000 individual and institutional investors in the Gulf. The company is regulated in Bahrain as a wholesale bank, and has traditionally utilised long-term and medium-term bank financing, including private placements and syndicated loans, in order to ensure a longer maturity profile. The company’s capital adequacy ratio (Basel II) at 2012 year end was 22.9%. The company is listed on the Bahrain Bourse (BSE), with a financial year end of 30 June.
Investcorp's portfolio company, Moneybookers, ended its relationship with Wikileaks in August 2010 as a direct result of U.S. government pressure.
Investment areas
Corporate investment
Corporate investment is Investcorp's traditional activity. This includes mid-size companies in North America and Western Europe, as well as technology small-cap investment (through Investcorp Technology Partners) in the Gulf and the MENA region.
The past and present portfolio includes over 90 investments. Selected past investments include:
- Tiffany & Co. - retailers of jewelry and luxury goods - acquired 1984, floated 1987
- Gucci - designer, producer and distributor of luxury accessories and apparel - acquired from 1989 to 1993, floated 1996
- Leica Geosystems - measuring instrument manufacturer acquired 1998, floated 2000
- Jostens - US provider of school-related affinity products - acquired 2000, sold 2003
- Neptune Technology Group â€" US manufacturer of water meters â€" acquired 2001, sold 2003
- MW Manufacturers â€" a US maker of windows and patio doors â€" acquired 2002, sold 2004
- Hilding Anders â€" European mattress and bed manufacturer â€" acquired 2003, sold 2006
- Apcoa â€" European parking management providers â€" acquired 2004, sold 2007
- American Tire Distributors - the largest US independent tire distributor â€" acquired in 2005, sold in 2010
- Moody International - international provider of quality and safety services â€" acquired 2007, sold 2011
- FleetPride - North America's largest distributor of truck and trailer parts - acquired 2006, sold 2012
- ProUnlimited - United States-based software and services firm - acquired in 2014 jointly by InvestCorp & Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company.
Real estate investment
The real estate division based in New York, sources and performs due diligence, and arranges financing and the acquisition of US properties and US commercial mortgage debt positions. The investment in these properties or loans is typically aggregated into a series of multi-investment portfolios for placement to clients. Debt investments are also made within a series of debt funds which are managed by the group. Since 1995, Investcorp has acquired in the region of 200 properties, totaling approximately $10Â billion in value. It currently has more than $6Â billion of property under management.
Hedge funds
Investcorp's hedge fund business was established in 1996 and today has approximately $4.5Â billion of capital under management, of which approximately $0.6Â billion is reserved for proprietary investments. The fund of funds program comprises a selection of funds of hedge funds with varying risk/return profiles. These are invested across different strategies through approximately 45 hedge fund managers.
In addition Investcorp has developed a single manager seeding platform, and currently offers, on a joint venture basis, access to six managers with specific strategies. The single manager platform currently has around $1.8 billion in client and proprietary assets under management. In the last few years customised portfolios have grown as a proportion of the firm’s overall hedge fund assets under management, with traditional fund-of-funds reducing.(subscription required)
16% of the hedge fund business is invested through fund of funds. The remainder is invested through customized investments, seeding businesses and a single manager platform. The hedge fund business also provides institutional investors with access to its emerging manager program, investing with and seeding early stage managers who, according to Investcorp research, outperform larger hedge funds on a risk adjusted basis.
References
External links
- Investcorp home page
- Bahrain Stock Exchange
- Bahrain Association of Banks
- Gulf Co-operation Council
- JMHinternational Investcorp - its creation resources & references
