Carlyle established its MENA investment operation in 2006, targeting investment opportunities in the Middle East and North Africa. Carlyle’s approach in the MENA region mirrors its method throughout the world: field a team of proven local investment professionals with intimate knowledge of the region and leverage the Carlyle platform, which features a remarkable global network, industrial expertise and operational know-how. Carlyle is the first global private equity firm to establish a presence in the region.

A Transforming Region

The MENA region is large, growing rapidly and ripe for private equity investing:

• Economy has world’s fifth largest GDP (growth projections through 2010 are 55% higher than rest of the world and 76% greater than the U.S.)
• Population is world’s third largest at 426 million
• Capital markets are maturing and large enough to provide exit opportunities
• Liberalizing state agendas creating opportunities for large scale transactions (increasing large scale privatizations)
• Low private equity penetration
• Carlyle’s regional presence provides opportunity for cross-country investments and M&A within the MENA region

The MENA Team Approach

• Target Regions: From offices in Cairo, Dubai and Istanbul, Carlyle’s team of 12 dedicated professionals targets investments in Turkey, North Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia), the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE), the Levant (Lebanon and Jordan) and Pakistan.
  
• Target Industries: The Carlyle MENA team will invest primarily in healthy, growing companies in the energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, infrastructure, technology, transportation & logistics and manufacturing sectors.
  
• Value Creation Focus: Carlyle invests in sound companies and businesses with potential for value creation, supports their business and leads them to the next stage.
  
• Corporate Partnership: Carlyle teams with strategic investors when the partnership will add value to the portfolio companies.
• Mid- to Long-Term Investor: Carlyle investment professionals devote a significant amount of their time to maximizing the portfolio company’s value on a mid-to long–term basis.
  
• Conservative and Disciplined: A conservative and disciplined investment philosophy produces the highest consistent returns. The MENA team focuses on industries it knows best and structures its transactions with conservative amounts of debt.