Abraaj frees investors from commitments in Fund VI

Abraaj no longer intends to proceed with the fund in its current form and has voluntarily released investors from their commitments in the vehicle, the Dubai-based private equity firm said in a statement.

Two weeks prior, the firm announced it had suspended deployment activities of its private equity funds and founder Arif Naqvi stepped down from his role of CEO.

Fundraising discussions with investors would restart once a strategic review and reorganisation were completed, Abraaj said.

Senior members of staff were considering stepping down, and staff cuts could be on the cards amid a wider reorganisation of Abraaj's fund management unit, according to media reports. At the time of writing, the team page on the Abraaj website had been taken down.

The group's reorganisation follows a dispute with investors earlier in the year that put the firm in the spotlight over claims of delays in receiving fund returns.

In January, Abraaj stated it had hired KPMG to verify receipts and payments of its emerging markets vehicle Abraaj Healthcare Fund, in response to four investors that had separately hired a forensic accountant to investigate where their money was deployed, claiming it was not all used to build clinics and hospitals, according to press reports at the time.

In an update on 7 February, Abraaj stated that the auditor had completed findings and verified the fund's finances were in line with agreed procedures.

The private equity firm launched its latest vehicle, Abraaj Private Equity Fund VI, in the first half of 2017, targeting $6bn.

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• Topics
• GPs
• CEE
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• Fundraising
• Abraaj Capital