- Alantra has appointed Saad Ashraf as Managing Partner of its Middle East office. He brings to the role more than 25 years of experience in investment banking and will lead Alantra’s operations in the region.
- With the opening of the Dubai office, the firm expands its presence to 25 offices in 21 countries, including the main financial hubs across EMEA, the US, Latam and Asia.
- The opening responds to Alantra’s ambition to become a global independent advisor with highly specialized capabilities. Last year, Alantra hired 30 senior professionals in high-growth sectors and recently launched a new investment banking vertical: maritime and offshore.
Dubai, 02 February 2022 – Alantra, the independent global mid-market investment banking and asset management firm, is expanding into the Middle East with the incorporation of Saad Ashraf. Saad has been involved in more than 65 M&A, restructuring deals, and debt capital markets transactions valued at more than $10bn. These include complex credit transactions in both conventional and Islamic finance in the Middle East, focusing on Maritime & Offshore, Financial Institutions, Real Estate, and Healthcare. In addition, Saad has C-suite solid relationships in the region’s corporate, FIG, private equity, and SWF sectors. Before joining Alantra, he was a Principal and Managing Director at StormHarbour, where he was the Head of the Middle East business for more than 5-years and mainly focused on M&A advisory, restructurings, and structured finance transactions across various sectors.
In the Middle East, Alantra will be based in the Dubai International Financial Centre, a leading international financial hub in the MEASA region. This business ecosystem allocates more than 3,292 active companies that benefit from the centre’s robust independent judicial system & regulatory framework, a global financial exchange, inspiring architecture, and enabling support services.
“By opening our first-ever office in the Middle East, we are adding an ‘on the ground’ presence in Dubai, which has grown to become one of the most exciting and dynamic financial hubs in the world. In recent years, the Middle East has experienced an upsurge in cross-border M&A activity. We believe that now is the right time for Alantra to establish a presence in the region as we continue to offer our mid-market clients a highly specialized service with a truly global reach”, said Miguel Hernandez, CEO of Alantra’s Investment Banking division.
Saad Ashraf, Partner at Alantra, commented: “I am excited to be joining Alantra in this new frontier for the firm, whose specialized and diverse services across multiple sectors and global reach will allow to further dynamize the financial community in the region and across existing clients around the globe.”
About Alantra
Alantra is a global alternative asset management, investment banking, and credit portfolio advisory firm focusing on providing high value-added services to companies, families, and investors operating in the mid-market segment. The Group has over 540 professionals across EMEA, the US, Latin America, and Asia.
Its Investment Banking division provides independent advice on M&A, debt advisory, financial restructuring, and capital markets transactions. It has advised on more than 475 deals for a total value of c.€70bn in the last three years. Alantra’s senior bankers and execution teams offer a global understanding of industry sectors combined with strong local relationships with the companies, investors, entrepreneurs, and financing institutions in each of its markets.
In Alternative Asset Management, Alantra offers its clients unique access to a wide range of investment strategies in seven highly specialized asset management classes (private equity, active funds, private debt, infrastructure, real estate, transition energy, and technology). As of 30 December 2021, assets under management from consolidated businesses stood at €2.4bn, while assets under management from strategic partnerships in which Alantra holds a significant stake were €12.8bn.
Alantra’s Credit Portfolio Advisory team is the leading portfolio advisory unit in Europe, dedicated to transaction execution, structuring, pricing, modelling and data enhancement in relation to credit portfolios and banking platforms. The team has advised on more than 140 transactions for a total volume of c. €93bn in the last three years.
