The story
Founded by Nemir Kirdar in 1982, in Manama.1
Investcorp was co-founded in 1982 by Nemir Kirdar, Elias Hallak, Savio Tung, Mike Merritt, and Cem Cesmig and acquired Tiffany & Co in 1984, floating in 1987. In 1988, Maurizio Gucci sold almost 47.8% of Gucci to Investcorp, and withheld the other 50% until 1993.
The company diversified in 1996 into Absolute Return Investments. Kirdar stepped down as CEO and executive chairman in 2015. With Kirdar resigning, Mohammad Alardhi became the Executive Chairman of the company. The changes also involved an update to the business model, which is now focused on raising institutional capital from global markets, and diversifying strategies further. In 2024, Investcorp announced changes to its leadership team, with Alardhi taking on further responsibilities previously held by the co-CEO as Executive Chairman, and Rishi Kapoor being appointed Vice Chairman and Chief Investment Officer. This restructure of the leadership team also included reorganising investment activities under three business verticals; Private Equity, led by Daniel Lopez Cruz, Real Assets, led by Herb Myers, and Credit, led by Neil Rickard in Europe and Corey Geis in the US. Investcorp's Private Wealth business and distributions are led by Yusef Al Yusef.
Investcorp made several acquisitions between 2016 and 2019, pushing into China with investments into tech and the food sector. In 2019, the company also pushed into the US market with the acquisition of Mercury Capital, which ceased operations in late 2024 "due to the very challenging capital raising environment". Investcorp's portfolio company, Moneybookers, ended its relationship with WikiLeaks in August 2010.
The company was regulated in Bahrain as a wholesale bank until 2019, when it voluntarily surrendered its wholesale banking license. It remained listed on the Bahrain Bourse (BSE) for four decades until 2021, when it delisted itself as a result of low trading volumes.
In 2023, Investcorp acquired a 50% stake in the infrastructure business of the firm Corsair, creating a new joint entity, Investcorp Corsair. The new entity focuses on a scalable investment strategy in transportation, logistics and broader infrastructure.
In 2024, the firm launched a $1 billion fund to invest further in China, and the GCC. The company has since announced further investment in the US as well, joining a $4.2 billion project to redevelop JFK international airport, due to be completed by 2025.
In the same year, it also announced it had partnered with specialist Securitize to make its latest GP-stakes fund available for individual investors on a public blockchain. Additionally, in early 2025 the firm launched its ‘Investcorp Wealth’ app, expanding its offerings towards individual investors.
From Wikipedia’s article on Investcorp, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4