Activist investing can be a lonely slog in the Middle East.
The hardball tactics deployed by Carl Icahn or Paul Singer’s Elliott Investment Management are all but unheard-of in a region where board decisions rarely meet dissent while shareholders work out their differences behind closed doors.
But the Gulf’s listed firms, at a cumulative market value of nearly $3.5 trillion, may be the next frontier for activists pushing management to make strategic or operational changes, especially as competition for foreign capital intensifies within the region and more companies go public. Shareholder campaigns could also alter the calculus for corporations after a series of recent delistings saw little in the way of pushback from investors.
One fund in the Gulf that hasn’t shied away from corporate showdowns is Sancta Capital. Drawing inspiration from Baupost Group, the Dubai-based alternative asset manager says it’s the only firm in the Middle East and North Africa that focuses on special situations investing.
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