Gulf buyout shop calls time on public markets - Reuters

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Mohammed Mahfoodh Alardhi, Executive Chairman of Investcorp, gestures during an interview with Reuters in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Saeed Azhar

Bahrain-based Investcorp (INVB.BH) is delisting from the country’s stock exchange. The move brings an end to more than 30 years of public ownership for the group founded to channel Gulf money into alternative assets. It now oversees $35 billion of buyout funds, property, infrastructure and credit.

It’s easy to see why the firm may be giving up on public markets. Investcorp’s stock is volatile, and often trades at a big discount to net asset value, ascribing little worth to future earnings. That may be partly because it is closely held by management and Gulf nationals and institutions such as Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala. But it also reflects the challenges of valuing companies that manage illiquid assets like private equity, whose cash flows are lumpy and hard to predict. Investcorp is arguably bucking the trend: Swedish peer EQT (EQTAB.ST), for example, listed in 2019. But its move serves as a warning to any other group looking to take the plunge. (By Neil Unmack)

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Gulf buyout shop calls time on public markets - Reuters
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