CAIRO: Abraaj Capital, a leading private equity and alternative asset management group in the region, confirmed it is no longer seeking a transaction with Cairo-based private equity firm Citadel Capital.
Abraaj Capital, headquartered in Dubai and with work spanning the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia (MENASA) region, announced in a statement on Tuesday that it had previously been in “exploratory” discussions, seeking a potential deal with Citadel Capital.
The Egyptian private equity firm Citadel Capital said earlier last month it was in possible buy-out talks with more than one potential strategic partner, according to Reuters, one of them being Abraaj Capital.
However, this month, after reviewing the deal closely, Abraaj Capital said the discussions went no further.
“This does not preclude Abraaj Capital from exploring such a transaction in the future should performance, deal terms, and/or circumstances change,” the statement said.
Abraaj stated that they explore potential investment opportunities in the MENASA region, however, “some of these transactions for various reasons may not reach closure,” they added.
Citadel Capital, listed as CCAP.CA on the Egyptian Exchange, is one of the leading private equity firms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Under the recent economic slump, the firm reported last week $4.5 million in losses in their first quarter results.
The firm had also announced that their total assets under management (AUM) for Q1 of 2011 were raised to $42.6 million.
Abraaj manages assets of more than $6 billion, while Citadel manages $4 billion, according to a Reuters report.
