EQT Turns Abu Dhabi Into Its First Gulf Investment Base

Another global investment firm has opened in Abu Dhabi, but the more useful signal is what EQT has put inside the office.

On September 23, EQT launched a Middle East platform and opened an office in Abu Dhabi Global Market, its first location within a broader regional platform the firm says it intends to build over time.

EQT reported $389 billion in total assets under management as of June 30, 2026. The Abu Dhabi launch therefore brings one of the world's largest private-markets platforms into the Gulf with a permanent local base rather than a visiting fundraising presence.

The office includes people who can invest, not only raise capital

The structure matters. EQT says the local platform brings together Private Capital and Infrastructure investment professionals alongside capital-raising and business-operations staff. Reuters reported that the office currently has a team of about 10 people.

Jimmy Mahtani has been appointed Chairman of GCC while retaining his role as Chairman of India and Southeast Asia for EQT Private Capital. Smiyet Belrhiti is leading the Abu Dhabi office as Head of Middle East and Senior Executive Officer.

That makes the office more operational than a pure investor-relations outpost. EQT says it intends to support existing portfolio companies in the region and pursue new investment opportunities across the GCC.

The potential deal range is unusually broad

Mahtani told Reuters that EQT could consider opportunities ranging from about $15 million to $1 billion, depending on the deal. Belrhiti pointed to healthcare, education, business services and infrastructure, including digital infrastructure and utilities, as areas where the firm could invest.

That range should not be read as a committed pipeline. EQT has not announced a dedicated Gulf fund, a fixed regional allocation or a first transaction alongside the office launch.

What has changed is the operating posture. The firm now has investment staff, fundraising capacity and business operations in Abu Dhabi, with Private Capital and Infrastructure active at launch and broader global capabilities available as opportunities develop.

Abu Dhabi is becoming part of the private-markets operating map

EQT is joining a wider concentration of international asset managers and private-capital firms building regulated operations in Abu Dhabi. The attraction is not only proximity to large institutional investors. A local team also gives firms a base for sourcing transactions, supporting portfolio companies and building regional execution capacity.

For EQT, the next meaningful evidence will be transactions rather than another office announcement. The questions are which strategy moves first, whether the Gulf becomes a source of portfolio-company expansion as well as new investments, and how quickly the broader Middle East platform grows beyond Abu Dhabi.