ABOUT
Blackfin Equity Partners
Blackfin Equity Partners ("Blackfin") was established by seasoned Corporate and Investment bankers Johnny Yacoub and Jalal Mitri to provide Financial Advisory services, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Equity & Debt Arrangement and Investment Management, with focus on corporate transactions, startups & SMEs.
What differentiates us from the vast landscape of financial advisory and investment banking service firms out there?
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The Partners have had 25+ years of successful hands on banking and deal closure experience across the GCC, Levant and North African markets, commonly known as the MENA Region.
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Blackfin partners and their extended network of Private & Institutional investors and clients have been involved in buy side and sell side transactions across diversified business sectors including real estate, manufacturing, consumer and retail, hospitality, telecommunications, and e-commerce technology.
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We seek to capitalize on opportunistic business areas for our clients to achieve higher yielding investment returns via Direct Fundraising, Private Equity (PE), and Venture Capital (VC). We do not like crowded ideas or popular investments.
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We like to think of ourselves as venturing on journeys that will be the business treasures of the future while securing and maintaining the very basic business fundamentals that have always succeeded throughout time.
Our Executive Team
Jalal Mitri, Managing Partner
Jalal Mitri started his career with National Bank of Kuwait as a credit and risk analyst in 1995. In 1999, he joined Arab National Bank (ANB) in Riyadh Saudi Arabia as a senior credit risk and portfolio manager where he subsequently moved to the Merchant Banking division as a Project Finance specialist working on multi billion dollar transactions and syndications mainly in the petrochemical and power/water sectors.
In 2008 he joined Arab Banking Corporation (ABC Bank) in Bahrain as a First Vice President, Corporate Head and Country Manager for Saudi Arabia managing and navigating a $1.5 billion portfolio through the financial crisis.
In 2013 he joined Qatar National Bank's International division and in 2015 was recruited by Credit Suisse in Bahrain as Vice President in Wealth Management for the GCC and Levant region until 2017 when he joined Blackfin Equity Partners as a Founder and Managing Partner.
Johnny Yacoub, Managing Partner
Johnny Yacoub started his career with FFA Private Bank as a research Analyst in 1995. In 1998, he joined the London based Capital Trust Group's MENAVEST private equity fund where he spent the next 8 years sourcing and structuring transactions for the fund. Notable transactions included Aramex Advisory and the Mezzanine tranche, Wadi Holdings, and Orascom Telecom Pre-IPO.
In 2006 he joined Morgan Stanley in Saudi Arabia as Vice President and managed the investment banking division in the Eastern Province. Johnny worked extensively on several large scale M&A Transactions and restructuring mandates, including the SAR 2 billion rights issue of Sipchem.
In 2011 he joined the investment holding company Cedar Peak Holdings in Beirut as a Managing Director. He was involved in managing and structuring the investments of the group until 2017 when he joined Blackfin Equity Partners as a Founder and Managing Partner.
THE TEAM...
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has international, regional, and especially local on the ground experiences through extensive travel and project undertakings.
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members hold MBA degree from internationally reputed Business Schools.
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brings extensive industry knowledge, corporate banking, investment banking, wealth management, and private equity expertise in addition to management consulting and operational experience.
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brings in specialized industry experience in a diverse range of sectors (Oil & Gas services, Healthcare, Telecommunication, Transportation, Financial Services, Construction & Real Estate, Industrial and Manufacturing, and Retail sectors).