Bahrain’s Investcorp buys US private credit manager for $200mn

Bahrain’s Investcorp buys US private credit manager for $200mn

Investcorp is buying US private credit manager Marble Point for about $200mn as the Bahrain-based investment manager significantly boosts its presence in US credit markets at a time of higher interest rates.

The acquisition underscores the push into private credit markets by Middle Eastern investors flush with cash thanks to high oil and gas prices at a time when sharply rising rates are boosting yields.

Founded in Bahrain in the 1980s, Investcorp manages $42.7bn of assets and once owned large stakes in Gucci and Saks Fifth Avenue. In recent years it has become a diversified alternative asset manager, with units dedicated to corporate buyouts, credit investments, real estate and infrastructure. It manages money on behalf of institutions globally and wealthy individuals in the Middle East.

As oil prices have skyrocketed, fund managers in energy-rich Gulf states such as Bahrain have become interested in deploying excess cash into credit-based investments to take advantage of attractive returns.

“We are seeing good demand for private credit and it is timely for us to be doubling down in the space and building scale,” said Rishi Kapoor, co-chief executive of Investcorp, in an interview. “What you find in the Middle East, it is much less negative and in some