Arcapita
Arcapita Group (simply called Arcapita and formerly branded as Crescent Capital), founded in 1997, is an originator of investments in private equity and real estate assets which comply with Sharia principles. Headquartered in Manama, Bahrain, Arcapita also has offices in Atlanta, London, and Singapore. The firm serves a group of investors in the Middle East region and Southeast Asia. Investors include investment firms, family offices, high net-worth individuals, and a sovereign wealth fund. Arcapita completed over 80 investments in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia for a total transaction value exceeding $30 billion. The  board of directors contain nine members, mainly from the Gulf Cooperation Council. Members are chairs, previous chairpersons, or current Chief Executive Officers of sovereign wealth funds or investment firms. Portfolio. Private equity. Arcapita acquires interest in midsized companies with an emphasis on the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Arcapita's portfolio contains 14 active and 61 exited investments. Selected past investments include: Real estate. Arcapita acts as principal of real estate investments. The firm's senior management has completed transactions worth $15 billion of real estate investments. Arcapita focuses of the following sectors: industrial and logistics  assets, self-storage, residential and senior living. Arcapita currently has 10 real estate investments under its management, and 26 prior investments. Selected past real estate investments include: History. 1997–2002. Arcapita was founded in 1997 by prominent GCC businessmen. During that time, Islamic banking started to gain popularity, but the industry lacked Sharia compliant investment opportunities. Arcapita's Sharia compliant model was created offering private equity and real estate alternative investments. Arcapita's first exit was Computer General Incorporated in December 2000. Computer General was a global provider of telecommunications mediation systems. 2003–2007. In 2003, Arcapita opened its London office to  handle private equity and real estate investments in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. In the year that followed, Arcapita acquired Church's Chicken, a quick-serve chicken restaurant chain, based in the United States. In 2005, First Islamic Bank, Crescent Capital Inc. and Crescent Capital Europe rebranded to Arcapita to unify their global brand across three offices in Atlanta, Bahrain, and London. 2008–2012. Arcapita recorded a performance of $360 million in fiscal year 2008, and extended their geographical presence by opening an office in Singapore that would handle investments in Asia. In 2010, Arcapita moved to its new  headquarters in Bahrain Bay. 2013–2017. In 2013, Arcapita completed its restructuring which was initiated in 2012. This restructure was due to the effects of the world economic crises that lead Arcapita to file for Chapter 11. A year later, Arcapita raised a new equity capital from shareholders to fund its growth strategy. In 2017, Arcapita along with Mumtalakat Holding Company, the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Bahrain, acquired a controlling interest in NAS United Healthcare Service, making it Arcapita's first private equity investment since the capital raise. In 2017, Arcapita acquired branding firm Stratus; they then sold  the firm to Vestar Capital Partners for an enterprise value of more than $450 million, reportedly three times the value at the time of Arcapita's purchase. 2021. In April 2021, Arcapita said that it has bought the Cedardale Distribution Center in Dallas used by FedEx. The value of Arcapita's US industrial real estate portfolio became over $200 million after the acquisition. Compliance with Shari'ah. Every investment made by Arcapita and its subsidiaries is approved by a four-member Shari'ah advisory board. In accordance with Islamic Shari'ah law, the company does not invest in any businesses which  offer credit or charge interest, or any other product that conflicts with Shari'ah law. According to representatives of the company, the Shari'ah advisory board does not make decisions about the financial merits of investments, and does not play a role in hiring or promotion of employees.