By Rachna Uppal and Federico Maccioni
DUBAI (Reuters) - Alternative investment company Investcorp plans to list at least one of its portfolio companies in the Gulf in 2024, a senior executive said, as its Abu Dhabi-listed unit Investcorp Capital reported financial results.
Bahrain-based Investcorp, with around $50 billion in assets under management and known for taking luxury brands public, listed Investcorp Capital on the Abu Dhabi exchange last year, defying a depressed market for initial public offerings to price at the top end of an upwardly revised range.
Hazem Ben-Gacem, co-CEO of Investcorp and vice chairman of Investcorp Capital's board, said the Group is optimistic about completing at least one listing in the Gulf in the next six to 12 months.
"We will definitely take advantage of the very strong public market demand...and we have a roster of businesses that are ripe for a public listing and we hope that we can do that in 2024," Ben-Gacem told Reuters.
In its first-half earnings covering the six months to end-December, Investcorp Capital declared an interim dividend yield of 9.6% on an annualised basis, based on a trading price of 2.09 dirhams per share.
First-half net profit fell 17% year-on-year to $34 million but comprehensive income at $34 million was in line with the year-earlier period. Revenue from its capital financing business jumped 47%.
Ben-Gacem said, without elaborating, that Investcorp could make three "meaningful" announcements in the coming weeks, including a private equity investment in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, an infrastructure investment and an acquisition in Indonesia, likely in March.
He said Investcorp is not looking to invest in Italian football club AC Milan, with which it has been associated in media reports.
Investcorp recently added an infrastructure asset class and in December acquired a 50% stake in the $4.8 billion infrastructure business of U.S. firm Corsair Capital.
"The (infrastructure) sector has shown great promise in recent years, especially after the COVID pandemic," Mohammed Bin Mahfoodh Alardhi, executive chairman of Investcorp and chairman of Investcorp Capital, said in a statement.