Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, BlueFive Capital, an investment platform originating from the GCC with a global mandate, today announced the successful closing of its Founding Shareholders Circle investment round, valuing the company at $120 million.
The funding round was oversubscribed and concluded in less than six months since the company’s formation, highlighting investors’ confidence in BlueFive Capital’s business ambitions. The founding shareholders consist of 25 institutions and family offices, including some of the most prominent GCC merchant and royal families alongside renowned finance leaders from North America, Europe and Asia. The offering has been subsequently expanded to accommodate the additional interest.
Since its inception at the end of 2024, BlueFive Capital has established itself as one of the GCC’s fastest growing global asset managers and today oversees more than $650 million in AUM. The firm combines tenured leadership with a 27-person team spanning London, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah, Singapore and Beijing.
BlueFive is founded by Hazem Ben-Gacem, one of the longest serving professionals in global private equity. Hazem was previously co-Chief Executive Officer at Investcorp, the Middle East’s largest non-sovereign private equity firm. During his 30 years at the firm, Hazem directly led investment teams in most of its world regions, while assets under management grew from $10 billion to more than $50 billion.
Hazem Ben-Gacem, Founder and Chief Executive of BlueFive Capital, said: “This overwhelming confidence from 25 blue-chip shareholders validates our team’s expertise and our strategy to disrupt the value chain in high-growth financial markets. The GCC is our launchpad, but our vision is hemispheric: connecting institutional-grade platforms to underserved capital markets driving the next wave of global prosperity.”
BlueFive Capital’s board of directors bring together an influential group of individuals representing the firm’s key focus geographies of the Middle East, Southeast Asia and China. The Board is chaired by Sheikh Mohamed Bin Isa Al Khalifa, who led Bahrain’s national pension fund for more than two decades. Lord Gerry Grimstone, former Minister of Investment for the United Kingdom, and Sheikh Mubarak Abdulla Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah of Kuwait, serve as vice chairmen.