Global firms pile into Abu Dhabi as secondaries surge and sovereigns team up

Why the capital is clustering now

Global firms are expanding in Abu Dhabi despite the regional war, aiming not only to tap sovereign wealth but to co-invest and purchase stakes in portfolio companies. The draw is strongest in private-asset secondaries, which moved from niche to necessary as higher rates made selling assets and returning cash tougher.

Industry activity is on track for $250 billion this year. Evercore estimates that private-asset secondary volumes hit $121 billion during the first half of 2026 - a record - with continuation funds making up most GP-led transactions.

Who is setting up shop and what they are raising

Since mid-September, EQT AB, Pantheon and Eurazeo have planted flags in Abu Dhabi, adding to Ardian and HarbourVest's earlier presence. A few days after opening its Abu Dhabi office in late September, Pantheon said the firm's newest marquee global private equity secondaries vehicle beat its target, amassing $6 billion in commitments, helped by strong backing from first-time Middle Eastern investors.

Ardian underscored the city's central role last year by raising $30 billion for the largest-ever secondaries platform. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority pledged $2 billion and obtained options to pursue additional co-investments, people familiar with the matter said. Representatives speaking on behalf of ADIA and Ardian declined to comment.

How partnerships are getting done on the ground

Since opening a local office in 2023, Ardian expanded its Abu Dhabi investment team and deepened ties with ADIA - the $1.1 trillion sovereign wealth fund - by teaming up on a real estate secondaries platform at the outset of the Iran war. The French group likewise partners with Mubadala Investment Co. on private-asset deals.

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"Ardian's scale makes it a natural partner for large or complex transactions providing local investors with liquidity solutions," said Yacine Zarrouk, Ardian Ltd.'s co-head and its senior MD overseeing investor relations. Proximity is paying off for others too. "We work with investors in a range of ways, including through co-investment and tailored solutions, and a local presence makes it easier to have those conversations," noted Firas Mallah, who leads Pantheon's Middle East team as managing director. And as HarbourVest's Edward Holdsworth put it, staying close lets firms respond if investors rebalance via a sale, or team up on secondary co-investments.

The competitive map and what it means for investors

With secondaries surging, Abu Dhabi's wealth funds are positioning to capture more of the boom. ADIA is retooling its private equity strategy, and Abu Dhabi Investment Council - a unit within Mubadala that operates independently - expects to put as much as $10 billion to work over the next three years. The $1.5 trillion asset manager PGIM recently appointed Lucas Radal to head its Middle East Secondary Investments team out of Abu Dhabi, and PGIM's Mohammed Abdulmalek says more regional institutions are using secondaries to manage growing private-market portfolios.

It is not frictionless. Firms arriving in search of so called silent capital are meeting stiffer competition for deals, including from the emirate's own investment network, people familiar with the matter said. That is intensifying as Abu Dhabi overhauls a sovereign wealth system of roughly $2 trillion in size and ramps up direct investing through L'imad Capital, MGX and Mubadala, the $385 billion powerhouse ramping up private equity. As Ardian's Zarrouk noted, relationships built on the ground have sourced many of the large portfolios the firm acquired, and together they have returned several billion dollars of liquidity to investors in the region.

In plain English: more local offices, more co-investments, more liquidity options - and more bidders at the table. For portfolios tied to private assets, expect secondaries to feature more in exits, rebalancing and deal flow connected to Abu Dhabi's networks.

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