Al Murjan, Abu Dhabi’s BlueFive to establish a global asset management investment platform

BlueFive, Al Murjan to launch global Islamic finance platform: Abu Dhabi’s BlueFive Capital and Jeddah-based Al Murjan Group are partnering to set up a joint shariah-compliant asset management investment platform, according to a press release (pdf).

The transaction: BlueFive will acquire a minority stake in Sidra Capital, Al Murjan’s Islamic asset manager specializing in private assets. In return, Al Murjan will take a minority stake in BlueFive786, BlueFive’s newly launched shariah-compliant investment arm based in Singapore.

What BlueFive786 will do: The firm will focus on offering Islamic investment products — including retirement and savings schemes — to savers and retirees in Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Brunei, and Singapore.

What’s next? BlueFive will establish an office in Riyadh to work alongside Sidra Capital in managing and executing investments in Saudi Arabia. The tie-up is meant to give both sides broader access to cross-border investments and to support the rollout of co-branded Islamic investment products.

Leadership moves: BlueFive Capital founder and CEO Hazem Ben-Gacem (LinkedIn) and co-founder Yasser Bajsair (LinkedIn) will join the board of Sidra Capital. Taufiq Bahamdain (LinkedIn), CEO of Al Murjan Group, and board member Shahid Shaikh (LinkedIn) will represent Al Murjan on the board of BlueFive786.

REMEMBER- BlueFive has been on an expansion drive, having acquired DIFC-based private wealth manager Neo Capital last week. The firm also closed a USD 2 bn debut fund in July and recently unveiled a USD 500 mn China-focused PE fund with CICC Capital.