Investcorp agrees tie-up with US private equity firm Centre Lane Partners

Bahrain-based investor will provide long-term capital to fund mid-market equity and debt deals

Bahrain’s private equity and alternative asset manager Investcorp is partnering with the New York based firm Centre Lane Partners . Courtesy Investcorp

Bahrain-based alternative asset manager Investcorp entered into a partnership with New York's Centre Lane Partners to boost investment in the North American market.

Investcorp’s Strategic Capital Group (ISCG) will become a non-voting partner in Centre Lane, providing long term capital to make private equity and debt deals involving mid-market companies. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. No changes will be made to Centre Lane's strategy, its team or day-to-day operations, the companies said.

“This transaction is a notable milestone for Centre Lane," Quinn Morgan and Ken Lau, co-founders and managing directors of Centre Lane Partners, said. "It will position us to even better serve our investors by further investing in our business as we continue to grow our existing strategies."

Investcorp, which has Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Company as its biggest shareholder, had $32.2 billion of assets under management at its most recent year end of June 30, a 15 per cent year-on-year increase.

“We look forward to supporting the firm as it focuses on continuing to generate superior returns for investors,” Loai Alarayedh, head of Gulf Institutions at Investcorp, said.

Investcorp rolled out its Strategic Capital Group last year to take stakes in mid-sized alternative asset managers.  The company's North American private equity arm has been investing in the mid-market sector for nearly 40 years and has completed about 70 transactions, deploying more than $22bn, it said last month.

Centre Lane Partners' investments include educational publisher Infobase and blender maker Nutribullet.

The company is also looking to invest $4bn on property acquisitions in the US and Europe over the next two years, Jon Dracos, head of real estate investment at Investcorp told The National in a recent interview.