Under the terms of the deal, signed yesterday in Doha, QAMC – a collaboration between the Qatar Investment Authority and the Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFC Authority) – will invest $250m (£154m, €189m) in BNRI’s current and future portfolio companies, of which a substantial proportion will be allocated to BNRI’s existing $2.1bn portfolio of companies.
A subsidiary of Barclays Bank, BNRI is a global private equity business focused on investing within the natural resources sector.
Following the investment, BNRI will continue to source, execute, manage and exit private equity transactions in the natural resources sectors on a global basis and co-investors will be invited to participate immediately upon completion of each transaction.
The BNRI office in the region will be located within the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC). BNRI employees, including senior members of the BNRI team such as Mark Brown, managing director and head of BNRI, will work on the ground in Doha.
Abdulrahman Ahmad Al-Shaibi, managing director of the QFC Authority, said: “This strategic partnership is an important milestone in Qatar’s strategy of developing an asset management hub and promoting the expansion of Qatar’s financial services industry.
“Barclays is already well-established in Doha as a QFC licensed entity, and we are delighted now to welcome the BNRI team to the Qatar Financial Centre. Given BNRI’s outstanding track record, skills and understanding of the natural resources sector, we are confident of achieving quality long-term returns from this strategic partnership.”
BNRI managing director Brown added: “We are pleased to be working in close partnership with the QAMC and look forward to developing a long-term relationship to add to our existing co-investors.”