ADGM was established in 2015 and has become one of the leading financial districts in the region as Abu Dhabi progresses towards the effort of brining in more foreign investors and businesses. Some of the most well known firms in the asset management industry have received financial services licenses.
Leading global investment company Fortress and an alternative asset manager specialising in the energy industry known as Kimmeridge, originally based in New York, will soon be building their offices in Abu Dhabi’s financial free zone.
The two US businesses will now be part of a rising number of foreign businesses that are taking advantage of the Middle East’s expanding investment sector.
On Wednesday, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of ADGM announced that U.S.-based Fortress, managing $50 billion in assets, is authorised to begin operations, strengthening ADGM’s global financial standing
According to Fortress, they would leverage their location in the financial district of Abu Dhabi to increase their local presence, strengthen ties with nearby investors and speed up co-investment in real estate and private credit.
“The opening of an office in Abu Dhabi is a strategic move that demonstrates our belief in the Gulf as a long-term capital and investment partner,” stated Drew McKnight, managing partner and co-chief executive of Fortress.
“The area is playing a bigger role in determining how the private markets around the world develop in the future.”
Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment arm, Mubadala, announced in 2023 that it would buy majority of shares of Fortress. Last May, the acquisition was finalised.
As the UAE capital continues to expand the financial sector to support its ambitions for economic diversification, Fortress is the most recent addition to an expanding list of asset managers, insurers, financial institutions and investment houses that have established offices in Abu Dhabi.
ADGM has unveiled additional initiatives. After the financial district expanded its jurisdiction to cover Reem Island, the free zone declared last year that it planned to reduce the cost of commercial registration licenses for certain categories while increasing them for others as part of its transitional strategy.
A commercial license to operate in ADGM was granted in November to BlackRock, worlds largest asset management company.
Stonepeak is a US based alternative investment firm (manages around $71.2 billion in assets) was granted regulatory authority in September to establish a base at ADGM. The license allows the company to be part of opportunities in UAE.
Additionally, in September, ADGM welcomed its first trillion-dollar asset managers, the Chicago investment giants Nuveen and PGIM, the global asset management division of Prudential Financial, listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Both firms are looking forward to growing their operations and client base in the Middle East.
Last month, Mubadala joined forces with Fortress Investment Group to allocate $1 billion toward a range of Fortress’s existing asset-based lending, private credit, and real estate ventures, as well as its current capital pools.
Fortress will use the newly assembled ADGM office as a “key hub” to pursue fresh prospects in the area.
According to Joshua Pack, co-chief executive and managing partner at Fortress, “having a direct connection to some of the most forward-thinking institutional partners in the world allows us to collaborate with greater scale and speed.”
Fortress primarily makes investments in credit, real estate, private equity and permanent capital strategies for about 2,000 institutional and private clients. The company was established in 1988
Kimmeridge said on Wednesday that its Abu Dhabi office has been awarded a category 4 license by ADGM’s FSRA to offer investment and transaction assistance which will further help them in operating as a “gateway” for energy investments between the US, UAE and the rest of the region.
The news comes as Mubadala Energy moved towards the US upstream gas market last month by purchasing a share in a business supported by Kimmeridge. The sovereign wealth fund of the UAE capital’s energy unit obtained a 24.1% stake in Kimmeridge’s SoTex HoldCo, providing it with access to two US states’ worth of portfolio firms.
As part of the opening of a new office in Abu Dhabi, Mansoor Al Hamed, managing director and CEO of Mubadala Energy and Benjamin Dell, managing partner of Kimmeridge, finalised a preliminary agreement for further collaboration on natural gas and liquefied natural gas projects.
He stated that the foundation for “future collaboration” would be provided by the original agreement.
Faycal Benjelloun, the managing director and head of Middle East, will lead Kimmeridge’s Middle East team. He also joins from Mubadala Capital.
Henry Wiltshire International is a multi-award winning brokerage with more than 11 years of experience in Abu Dhabi. We specialise in luxury and off market properties as well as a full range throughout the city and islands. If you’re looking to buy, sell or lease, contact us at +971 56 484 3380
