Perella Weinberg Bankers Break to Form Newcomer Boutique in Gulf - Bloomberg

Perella Weinberg Bankers Break to Form Newcomer Boutique in Gulf - Bloomberg

Perella Weinberg Partners LP’s Middle East team of bankers left to start its own advisory firm in Dubai to get a slice of the buoyant market for deals and restructurings in the region.

Tarek Anabtawi, until December the head of Perella’s Middle East operations, and Jameel Akhrass, a senior adviser at the New York-based firm, have founded Resonance Capital and started the process of applying for a license. Anabtawi said they will be joined by former Perella colleagues Hesham Sbayteh and Ayman Anwar.

Resonance won’t entirely cut its ties with Perella. The two firms are setting up a strategic partnership that allows the Dubai boutique to work on regional deals as well as on more complex cross-border transactions with the U.S. investment bank.

For Perella, which was founded in 2006 with the backing from wealthy Gulf investors, that means it will retain its access to clients as it pulls out of the region by closing its Abu Dhabi and Dubai offices. Resonance and Perella are currently working on a half-dozen deals, Anabtawi said.