Abraaj has been trying to offload its stake in Turkish
hospital group Acibadem in a deal that could be worth at least $500 million.
Matteo Stefanel, senior partner, said other exits were
likely.
"We are also looking at one to three exits in the
next 18 months," Stefanel told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference,
without elaborating on details.
Private equity funds in the Middle East and North Africa,
under pressure to produce bigger returns for investors, have buyers, including sovereign wealth
funds, looming larger on their deal radar.
Stefanel said Abraaj was looking at investing in
healthcare, education and energy.
"These are investments which we think can
demonstrate growth over the next few years in the region," he said, adding
Abraaj was in the final stages of raising capital for a $2 billion private
equity fund.
Meanwhile, Nakheel has approached banks for a $200
million financing, in its first attempt to tap capital markets in over two
years, and about a month after it completed a complex restructuring of its
massive debt pile.
"Nakheel is approaching banks and discussions with
them are progressing well," a Nakheel spokesman said on Sunday.
The indebted developer is now wholly-owned by the Dubai
government as part of its former parent Dubai World's debt restructuring.
The developer, which overstretched itself building
islands in the shape of palms and other ambitious projects, will use the funds
for new projects that include the expansion of the Dragon Mart mall, one of its
retail assets.
This is the first time that the developer would seek to
raise fresh financing since 2009, when a property market collapse forced
Nakheel to restructure its $ 16 billion debt.
Dubai has already given as much as $8.71 billion to the
developer. The company announced in August that it completed the restructuring
and would soon deliver pending projects and pay investors.
Dubai's property boom ended in 2008, with home prices
plunging by about 60 percent forcing many developers to abandon projects.
Some of Nakheel's ambitious projects like Palm Jebel Ali,
another palm-shaped island stretching into the sea, is yet to be complete.
Nakheel's Chairman Ali Rashid Lootah said its full year
profit should be in-line with its 2010 results, bolstered by its leasing and
retail businesses.
The indebted developer issued $1.03 billion under the
first tranche of the $1.31 billion sukuk earlier this year to trade creditors.
