“This process marks the culmination of an extremely complex and challenging phase of negotiations and detailed planning. Since our differences with certain investors first came to light, we have worked exhaustively and transparently to investigate the matter and address their concerns, all the while ensuring our tremendous investment teams around the world continue to support the growth of our partner companies.

“The intense public scrutiny and highly speculative rumours on these matters have put enormous stress on the Abraaj family of employees and partners, together with our investors and other stakeholders. We appreciate the support we have received from many who understand our circumstances and believe in the fundamental mission we have strived for the past 16 years to fulfil – investing for impact and driving growth.

Full statement by Abraaj’s founder

“I want to thank our regulators, management teams, colleagues, lenders and advisors for working tirelessly to bring us to this point. “Keeping the interests of the Limited Partners in the Funds managed by Abraaj Investment Management Ltd (AIML) during this turbulent period has been paramount. The fact that the approximately 50 companies in the current generation of Funds have kept growing during these recent turbulent months demonstrates the resilience and quality of their management teams and our investment professionals.

“Regardless of their future ownership, we are confident that the Funds will achieve above-market returns in the years to come. The provisional liquidation of Abraaj Holdings will create a more controlled basis for moving forward, without impacting the day to day management of the Funds and the underlying portfolio businesses. An independent AIML, under new ownership, will be stabilizing for all who are associated with the asset management business.

“The process of court supervised restructuring will take a few months. I will continue to support this orderly process and help ensure the best possible outcomes for all the stakeholders. The past four months have been humbling, exhausting and testing for us all but when I reflect on the past 16 years, I am proud of the positive impact that Abraaj has had on the markets and communities it serves.”

Published in Dawn, June 15th, 2018