{"id":91728,"date":"2024-05-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/coffee-with-karim-el-solh-ceo-of-gulf-capital\/"},"modified":"2024-05-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-05-07T00:00:00","slug":"coffee-with-karim-el-solh-ceo-of-gulf-capital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2024\/05\/07\/coffee-with-karim-el-solh-ceo-of-gulf-capital\/","title":{"rendered":"Coffee with: Karim El Solh, CEO of Gulf Capital"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"> <strong>While the rest of the world is seeing a lull in dealmaking, the Gulf is emerging as a bright <\/strong><strong>spot<\/strong>, UAE-based private equity firm <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gulfcapital.com\/\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Gulf Capital<\/a> CEO Karim El Solh <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/dr-karim-el-solh?originalSubdomain=ae\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">(LinkedIn)<\/a>&nbsp;tells EnterpriseAM UAE. Plenty of sectors are ripe for growth and investment, from AI to healthcare and renewables, and private equity firms here in the UAE and the wider region are capitalizing on the momentum.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Whether it\u2019s the IPO boom&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>that has sustained itself despite global headwinds<\/strong>, new forms of capital \u2014 like private capital \u2014 gaining a foothold in the region, or the focus on growth capital as opposed to leverage buyouts, the region is fast becoming a hotspot for investors looking to make substantial returns. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>When it comes to exciting industries in the region, Gulf Capital is all in on five: <\/strong>Fintech, healthcare, business services, consumer, and sustainability \u2014 which it defines as water and food security, renewables, and the energy transition. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>As the firm prepares to reach first close on its fourth fund<\/strong>, which El Solh hopes will help it cross the USD 3 bn mark in assets under management, <strong>we sat down with El Solh for coffee in Dubai<\/strong> to discuss what the firm has in store over the coming year, which markets he\u2019s bullish on, and why dealmaking in the Gulf is booming.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">KEY TAKEAWAYS: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Gulf Capital plans to achieve first close on its fourth fund in 2H 2024<\/strong>, with an eye to raise more than USD 800 mn;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Asia and the Middle East are bright spots<\/strong> for investors for the next few decades;<\/li>\n<li><strong>The momentum in the regional stock market scene is fueling more exits<\/strong> in the region;<\/li>\n<li>The firm will be doing <strong>most of its fundraising from LPs in Asia and the Gulf. <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Enterprise: <\/strong>How has the Gulf managed to sustain its dealmaking momentum despite a global liquidity crunch and economic headwinds? <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Karim El Solh: It\u2019s a story of sharp contrast. <\/strong>When the US and Europe are slowing down, we\u2019re having our best year ever here. The region is growing very fast, and Europe is entering recession. Diversification of the economy and the expansion of non-oil sectors is working very nicely. Countries in the region are launching a number of new industries that are really paying off, from tourism, to healthcare, to banking, to technology. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Even though there\u2019s a lot of clouds on the horizon globally, the only bright spot today is in the Gulf region<\/strong>. Another one is India. Those two markets are very promising both from a growth and exit perspective. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>We're working on four exits this year \u2014 probably the most we\u2019ve ever done in a year. <\/strong>This is at a time when exits in Europe are slowing down, and it\u2019s very difficult to sell companies. We started the year in January with the strategic <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterprise.news\/uae\/en\/news\/story\/921663fd-eb36-45eb-9f4d-c1ad80707a4b\/gulf-capital-offloads-stake-in%253cmark%253e-amcan%253c%2Fmark%253e\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">sale of Amcan<\/a>, a leading sports and nutritional supplements distribution company, and we have three exits in the pipeline. That\u2019s refreshing for global LPs. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The average growth in profitability for all of our portfolio companies in 4Q 2023 was 46% on the previous year.<\/strong> For the full year, we grew 33% on the previous year. That kind of growth excites global investors because they\u2019re not seeing it anywhere else.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Part of it is the growth of the economy, but the other part is us working with our operating partners to grow our companies. <\/strong>We don\u2019t rely on leverage. The way we make our money is by doubling and tripling profitability. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>On all of our exits, we increase profit by 224%. <\/strong>That\u2019s how we generate our returns. When people ask if we\u2019re impacted by the high interest rates, I say not really, because I never put leverage on companies. This is in sharp contrast to your typical US leverage buyout and European leveraged buyouts; they put a ton of leverage, and when Libor \u2014 the London interbank offered rate \u2014 was close to zero, it was very easy to make money on cheap financing. But now Libor is over 5%, and the cost of borrowing is over 11%. It becomes very onerous, and their companies are very stressed because of it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>E: How do you make sure your companies are making returns? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>KS: We\u2019re a control buyout fund.<\/strong> 80% of our acquisitions have been control buyouts, and I think looking ahead, it will be 100%. We insist on control because we bring a deep bench of operating partners. We clean, fix, and grow our companies \u2014 we\u2019re an active owner. We cannot transform a company with a small minority stake. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>E: Looking ahead, what\u2019s your preferred exit strategy? Are you looking at IPOs or strategic sales? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>KS: Historically, we were very focused on selling to strategic buyers because we have controlling stakes and market leaders. <\/strong>The sectors we focus on are growing fast. They attract a lot of global investors and strategic buyers. With <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gulfcapital.com\/2022\/11\/02\/gulf-capital-sells-100-of-chef-middle-east-to-nasdaq-listed-the-chefs-warehouse-nasdaq-chef-for-c-us-100-million-in-an-exit-that-generates-2-5x-returns\/#:~:text=Gulf%20Capital%2C%20one%20of%20the,)%2C%20a%20Nasdaq%2Dlisted%20speciality\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Chef Middle East<\/a>, we held an auction and got a bid from Thailand and Germany, but it was eventually sold to a US company \u2014 the Chef\u2019s Warehouse, which is listed on Nasdaq. We got a 2.5x return on that investment. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>But now I\u2019m seeing a lot of global investors coming here<\/strong>, and they're approaching us. We\u2019re speaking to three or four of them, so that\u2019s a new exit avenue which we didn\u2019t have before. They\u2019re investing out of big funds, USD 20 bn funds. They need a minimum equity check of USD 300 mn. For me, that\u2019s great, because we write checks of USD 50-100 mn. We double, triple the size of these companies, and we can sell to them.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The other thing that is new is how vibrant and exciting the regional stock markets have become. <\/strong>Historically, we had to go to London to do IPOs of companies like Gulf Marine Services, because the markets here were not open. Now, it's much more exciting to do IPOs here than internationally. I think the IPO route for the next two years could be an exciting one. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>E: Global investors coming here is an interesting opportunity for you. But is there concern over competition? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>KS: <\/strong>We are in the midmarket space, while most of the ones coming here are in the big check space, so we are not overlapping. They will never spend time like we do on a USD 40-60 mn transaction when they are a USD 20 bn fund. It doesn\u2019t move the needle for them. They need bigger tickets. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>E: What do you have in line this year in terms of investments and funds?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>KS: We became more and more sector-focused after 2016. <\/strong>After 2015, there was an oil crash. Oil prices dropped by 70%. It was then \u2014 as we launched our third fund \u2014 that we shifted from being a generalist and investing a lot in oil and gas to looking into the future.We mapped out 45 sectors and we picked the five fastest growing sectors. We\u2019re now building a pipeline from these sectors for our fourth fund. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>We hope to achieve the first close on our fourth fund in the second half of the year. <\/strong>Fund III is 90% deployed, so we have 10% left. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>E: Do you have a certain goal for the size of the fourth fund? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>KS: <\/strong>We\u2019ve been growing steadily. Our first fund was USD 160 mn, the second was USD 533 mn, and the third fund was USD 750 mn. Hopefully, our fourth fund cover is USD 800 mn or more. We\u2019ll typically invest in 12 companies per fund, and the average ticket is USD 50-100 mn. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>E: What does your LP mix look like right now?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>KS: Historically, we\u2019re backed by a number of sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, funds of funds and family offices<\/strong>, around half from the Gulf and the other half from outside the region \u2014 a lot from Asia, and some from Europe. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>I think for this upcoming fund, the most fertile grounds for fundraising would be the Gulf and Asia. <\/strong>The economies are doing well; they\u2019re liquid, they like the Gulf, and they\u2019re keen to put money here. I see much less appetite from Europe because Europe is going through a lot of issues, from economic recession to lack of liquidity. With that context in mind, I see European investors pulling back, maybe going back to looking at their countries, while the Asian sovereigns are coming here en masse. We\u2019re much more excited to look east rather than west when it comes not only to investments, but fundraising as well.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>E: And speaking of Asia, you were recently on a roadshow there. <\/strong>What\u2019s exciting to you about Asia right now and which countries and sectors specifically are you looking at? <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>KS: I think the pleasant surprise I found was Japan. <\/strong>It was very nice to see the strong revival Japan\u2019s going through. Local players are very excited to invest in Japanese private equity and there\u2019s more activity and more take-private. You feel they\u2019re going through a generation shift, after being a sleepy destination. That was a bright spot. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>India is very exciting as well. <\/strong>China is facing some issues, but I think they\u2019re stabilizing and you can already see a rebound in the Hong Kong stock market. I think 2024 could be the year where they turn the page and resume the growth they had before. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Asia is a very exciting consumer market<\/strong>, with a big population that\u2019s growing fast. Our head of Singapore has a consumer background, used to work at firms like LVMH, Zegna and Nike, and has a unique network of potential investments in that sector, so that\u2019s an interesting play. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>We\u2019re also looking at bringing our healthcare companies to Asia.<\/strong> We own the largest fertility platform here \u2014 <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.artfertilityclinics.com\/en\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">ART Fertility<\/a>. We\u2019ve expanded to India, and opened 10 centers, and we will soon open 15 new centers. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>I think the corridor we\u2019re investing in from the near to Far East today is the fastest growing corridor in the world. <\/strong>It\u2019s an exciting region, and if you look 30 years from now, the European economy will increase 1.5x, the US 1.8x, the Gulf will triple in size, Southeast Asia will quadruple, and India will quintuple.<strong> If you want growth, you have to be in this corridor where we\u2019re playing. It\u2019s not in Europe, it\u2019s on the near to far east \u2014 the new Silk Road. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>E: Since healthcare is one of your focal sectors, can you tell us more about the growing consolidation trend in the industry here in the UAE? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>KS: There\u2019s a lot of action on hospitals now<\/strong>, but this is not a sector we look at because hospitals tend to be very capex-heavy and take a long time to scale. We prefer asset-light businesses, like clinics and our fertility platform. In four years, we went from one to 15 centers across the Gulf and India. You can scale and build faster and will have generated a much higher return investing in clinics and asset-light healthcare opportunities than in hospitals.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>E: Back to your strategy and priorities for the year: What will your investment-to-exit ratio look like?&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>And can you give us a breakdown of the investments you plan to make per market? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>KS: I think this year we will see much more exits than new investments. <\/strong>We've been growing our companies for a long time, and we\u2019ve reached record profitability. It's an excellent time to be harvesting our portfolio. I expect the exit-to-investments ratio to be 2:1. That\u2019s where we are in the life cycle of our fund. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Fund IV will be probably 70% Gulf, 30% Asia.<\/strong> But as we do more bolt-on acquisitions \u2014 acquisitions of smaller companies \u2014 most of which come from Asia, it could become 50:50. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gulf Capital plans to reach first close on its fourth fund in 2H 2024<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":91729,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_primary_brand":0,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1644],"tags":[123,1342,341],"brand":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"class_list":["post-91728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coffee-with","tag-coffee-with","tag-investment","tag-private-equity","wpautop","entry"],"acf":{"mongo_id":"b015a371-c9b1-4f1f-821a-7974aa71fc68","order":"4","is_powered_by":false,"story_type":"1","photo_url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/2024\/5\/212.jpg","photo_position":"above","homepage_title":"","full_issue_title":"Coffee with: Karim El Solh, CEO of Gulf Capital","related_issue":[91722],"teaser":"Gulf Capital plans to reach first close on its fourth fund in 2H 2024","voice_url":"https:\/\/s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/ent.news\/audio\/2024\/7\/.0c07ce92-1a70-4532-ab9d-aa17ce8648f3.mp3"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.1 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - 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