When liquidity evaporated from world markets in 2008, the Gulf’s richest monarchies stepped in to lap up everything from stakes in western lenders such as Citigroup Inc. to trophies like the Manchester City Football Club and Harrods. They’re at it again.
Flush with cash from a commodity boom, the region’s biggest sovereign funds -- which control more than $3 trillion in assets -- are pouring billions of dollars into global deals, playing funders of last resort for companies in a volatile market.
In the more than a decade since the 2008 financial crisis, cheap money and access to an array of investors meant companies didn’t really need to turn to the Gulf. As these sources of funding start to dry up, the region’s oil-rich states are being solicited again, giving them an opportunity to cherry-pick assets as well as accelerate a pivot in strategy away from a dependence on the black gold.
Bankers from New York to London and Singapore are seeking out Gulf funds for big deals around the world -- a US-based investment bank is pitching one of the region’s biggest money managers to invest in a $20 billion deal, a person familiar with the matter said. More Middle Eastern money is coming to the market than has been for a while now, said a senior executive at one of the world’s largest investment firms.
The region’s largest sovereign wealth funds have been involved in at least $28.6 billion worth of acquisitions outside the Middle East and Africa this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s 45% more than at this point in 2021 and the most for any corresponding period on record, the data show.
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