Pantheon, a leading global private markets firm with $84bn in assets under management, has announced the opening of its first office in the Middle East region at ADGM, the international financial centre based in Abu Dhabi, alongside the appointment of Firas Mallah as its new managing director and regional head.
Demand for access to private equity, infrastructure, and private credit strategies continues to build among sophisticated investors across the Middle East, who recognize Pantheon for its 40-year track record of innovation and expertise across primaries, secondaries and co-investment opportunities.
Secondaries – pioneered by Pantheon in 1988 – remains a defining thread across the platform: alongside its long-established private equity secondaries business, Pantheon has among the industry's first and largest private credit and infrastructure secondaries franchises, making it a strong partner in that space across the GCC.
These strategies are increasingly in demand across the region as investors seek discounted access to mature, diversified portfolios of identifiable assets, with mitigated blind pool risk, a shortened J-curve, and earlier distributions.
Over nearly two decades, Pantheon has built relationships with a broad and diverse range of investors across every GCC country, and a dedicated office in Abu Dhabi is the natural next step in enhancing and deepening those relationships and strengthening the firm's presence in the region.
The new office extends Pantheon's global footprint to 13 locations across four continents and reflects the firm's strategic conviction in the Middle East, it stated.
Firas joins from Sagard, where he was Managing Director, Head of MENA, and brings over 23 years of experience in capital formation and investor relations across the Middle East. He holds an MBA from INSEAD. Firas will be based in Abu Dhabi and will report to Florence Dard, Pantheon's Chief Client Officer.
Florence Dard, Chief Client Officer of Pantheon, said: "Off the back of a record fundraising year, Pantheon continues to see increasing capital formation across the platform, with a growing share coming from the GCC. With this office, Pantheon reaffirms its commitment to the region and to enhancing and deepening the relationships we have built with clients across every Gulf country for nearly two decades."
"We are particularly pleased to welcome Firas Mallah to the team - his track record raising capital from a broad range of investors speaks for itself, and his appointment strengthens our ability to serve clients across the Middle East directly," she stated.
On the key appointment, Mallah said: "The Middle East is one of the fastest-growing sources of capital in private markets, and investors here are increasingly sophisticated about how they want exposure to the asset class."
"Pantheon’s reputation as a global leader in secondaries and innovation in private markets solutions closely matches investor demand, and I’m excited to bring the firm’s private markets expertise to investors across the region," he noted. "Establishing our presence in ADGM reflects our strong commitment to the region as we deepen our long-term engagement across the wider GCC," he added.
Lauding the move, Arvind Ramamurthy, Chief Market Development Officer at ADGM, said: "The firm's decision to establish its Middle East presence in Abu Dhabi reflects the continued appeal of ADGM as a destination for leading global private markets firms seeking to deepen their engagement with the region's sophisticated institutional investor base."
"Pantheon's extensive experience across private equity, infrastructure and private credit will add further depth to our investment management community, and we look forward to supporting the firm's growth in Abu Dhabi and across the wider region," he added.
