Abu Dhabi-based conglomerate Alpha Dhabi Holding is eyeing to invest 30 billion dirhams (USD 8 billion) over the next five years, with recent divestments providing additional funding for growth, informed Derek Nicholson, Chief Strategy Officer at Alpha Dhabi.
Divestments such as Alpha Dhabi’s exit from Modon, which generated AED 5.3 billion, will drive the push towards accelerating the conglomerate’s global expansion and capital deployment strategy.
“The company has a two-fold approach. One supports portfolio companies in executing their growth strategies through governance. The other, deploys its own money and recycles capital through IPOs and reinvestment into high-growth sectors,” Zawya reported.
The conglomerate, which operates in 45 countries, is now targeting acquisitions that offer scale, synergies, and robust returns rather than geographic presence alone.
“We’re not focused on planting flags in new markets for the sake of it. […] instead, we seek acquisitions with the right risk profile, returns, and synergies. Our outlook is global—Asia, Europe, East and West—wherever scale and strategic fit exist. We would encourage them [portfolio companies] to take on more debt, but within benchmarks that are right for their particular industry and aligned with their business plans and cash flows,” Nicholson said, while stating his venture’s new approach: favouring conservative leverage in funding, while keeping track of the improving monetary conditions as interest rates peak and trend downward.
The group is also exploring Abu Dhabi’s debt markets for diversified financing, including potential debt issuance. While stating that IPO timelines remain market-dependent, Nicholson said that any of the conglomerate’s private portfolio companies could go public when “ideal conditions” arrive. He also dismissed concerns that the lacklustre post-listing performance of recent UAE IPOs could dampen market sentiment, emphasising that fundamentals remain unchanged, while capital markets continue to be strong.
“From our meetings with banks, I’ve seen the IPO pipeline—it’s larger than ever in terms of companies considering going public. It is nice to see there’s such a strong appetite for companies to move from private to public. That gives us confidence that, come the right time for the right transaction, it will be successful,” the senior official remarked.
Beyond IPOs, Alpha Dhabi may monetise the sizable stakes that it has in companies through accelerated bookbuilds (ABBs) or strategic sales. On that, Nicholson added, “The advantage we have is flexibility. There’s no pressure to [launch an] IPO within a fixed timeline, and we can take a long-term view.”