Bahrain's Investcorp acquires Mercury Capital as it expands financial portfolio

The deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year

Bahrain based Investcorp acquired German cybersecurity company Avira for $180 million. Courtesy of Investcorp

Investcorp, the Bahrain-based company that counts Mubadala Investment Company as its biggest shareholder, signed a definitive agreement to acquire Mercury Capital Advisors, one of the top global institutional capital raising and investment advisory firm, as it continues to expand its financial portfolio.

Under the deal, Mercury will remain an independent business operating under its current leadership team, Investcorp said in a statement on Sunday. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be finalised in the third quarter of this year, it said without specifying the value of the transaction or the terms of the agreement.

Founded in 2009 by Michael Ricciardi, Alan Pardee and Enrique Cuan, Mercury has closed over $170 billion in fund commitments since 2003. The firm has extensive experience in providing advisory services on direct deals and co-investments, joint ventures and secondary transactions, as well as consulting services, through 14 offices across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

“Our partnership with Mercury is completely in line with Investcorp’s long-term strategy,” said Mohammed Alardhi, executive chairman of Investcorp. “Mercury is well positioned to deliver unique solutions to clients across the globe through its traditional placement capabilities.”

The investment is the latest in Investcorp’s strategy to expand its financial portfolio and follows the company’s acquisition last year of a strategic minority stake in Banque Paris Bertrand, an independent Swiss-regulated private bank based in Geneva and Luxembourg.

Earlier this month Investcorp formed a partnership with Dock Square, a US advisory and merchant banking firm founded by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, to jointly invest and pick up stakes in asset management companies.

Investcorp, in which Mubadala holds a 20 per cent stake, has been on an acquisition spree as the company aims to double assets under management to about $50 billion (Dh183.5bn) over the next three years from $22.5bn at the end of December.

In April, the Bahrain-headquartered alternative investment manager acquired a portfolio of US properties, pushing its total investment into the country’s real estate market to $2bn in the past 18 months.

Since its inception in 1982, Investcorp has made more than 185 investments in the US, Europe and the broader Middle East and North Africa, with the total transaction value exceeding $59bn.

Investcorp is looking to raise in excess of $7bn this year for acquisitions in the Arabian Gulf and Asia.