6 October 2026
New Mountain Capital, a New York investment firm with nearly USD 60 billion under management, about AED 220 billion, announced on 6 October 2026 that it has established New Mountain Capital Middle East Limited in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). The entity holds an FSRA licence dated 22 June 2026 for arranging deals in investments and advising on investments or credit. The office is led by Shehreyar Hameed, a Managing Director who previously covered Middle East institutional clients and family offices at Blackstone. Its purpose is to serve and grow New Mountain’s investor base in the GCC; the firm’s investments stay focused on middle-market companies in North America.
What New Mountain Capital announced
The announcement was distributed through Business Wire on 6 October 2026 at 16:00 Abu Dhabi time. New Mountain said it had received regulatory approval from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), the financial regulator of ADGM, to conduct regulated activities through a new local company, New Mountain Capital Middle East Limited.
The firm describes the office as a step to deepen relationships with existing clients and to grow its investor base in the region. In other words, the Abu Dhabi team works on the investor side of the business: meeting institutions and families in the Gulf, presenting New Mountain’s strategies and maintaining those relationships over time. The release states directly that, while the firm is establishing a presence in Abu Dhabi to facilitate client relationships, its investment activity will remain focused on defensive growth middle-market companies based in North America.
Adam Weinstein, President and Chief Operating Officer of New Mountain, called the office an important milestone and a sign of a long-term commitment to the Gulf. “We have been privileged to work with many leading investors in the region for years, and establishing a local presence will allow us to deepen those relationships while building new partnerships over time,” he said.
What the FSRA register shows
The FSRA public register adds details that the press release does not contain. New Mountain Capital Middle East Limited appears there as an active financial firm with FSP number 260039 and an FSP date of 22 June 2026, so the licence was in place about three and a half months before the public announcement. Its legal form is an ADGM private company limited by shares, and its registered office is on the 43rd floor of Addax Port Office Tower on Al Reem Island, which is part of the ADGM jurisdiction.
Two regulated activities are listed, both effective from 22 June 2026: arranging deals in investments, and advising on investments or credit. They cover instruments such as shares, debt instruments and units in collective investment funds. The register also records three conditions: the firm may not hold client assets, may not hold or control client assets, and may not deal with retail clients as defined in the FSRA Conduct of Business Rulebook.
Put simply, the Abu Dhabi entity can advise professional and institutional investors and arrange their investments, for example into New Mountain funds, but it does not take custody of their money and does not sell to the general public. This is a common format for global managers whose first goal in the region is investor coverage rather than local deal making.
Who is Shehreyar Hameed
Shehreyar Hameed joined New Mountain as a Managing Director in 2025 and focuses on business development across the firm’s strategies. He has been appointed Senior Executive Officer of New Mountain Capital Middle East Limited.
According to his profile on the New Mountain website, he was previously a Managing Director at Blackstone responsible for Middle East institutional clients and family offices across the firm’s product lines. Before that he was a Managing Director in the Sovereign Group of J.P. Morgan Asset Management and an Executive Director in the Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities division of Goldman Sachs International. He started his career at ABN AMRO Bank in Asia, later co-founded the eLearning company Knowledge Platform, and holds a BA in Economics from Bard College and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Hameed shares responsibility for Gulf investor coverage with Patrick O’Dolan, a Managing Director based in New Mountain’s London office. O’Dolan and David Coquillette, the New York based Head of Business Development, said the firm began building institutional relationships in the Gulf more than 20 years ago and today works with dozens of partners across the region.
New Mountain Capital at a glance
| Indicator | Figure |
|---|---|
| Assets under management | Nearly USD 60 billion, about AED 220 billion |
| Founded | 1999, headquartered in New York |
| Strategies | Private equity, strategic equity, credit, net lease real estate |
| Investment focus | Defensive growth middle-market companies in North America |
| ADGM entity | New Mountain Capital Middle East Limited, FSP 260039 |
| FSRA licence date | 22 June 2026 |
| Regulated activities | Arranging deals in investments; advising on investments or credit |
| Conditions | No client assets, no retail clients |
| Head of the office | Shehreyar Hameed, Managing Director and Senior Executive Officer |
| Gulf coverage shared with | Patrick O’Dolan, Managing Director, London |
AED amounts are converted at the fixed peg of AED 3.6725 to USD 1. Licence data come from the FSRA public register, career details from the New Mountain website, and the other figures from the New Mountain announcement of 6 October 2026.
Defensive growth, private credit and net lease
New Mountain describes its approach as building businesses and pursuing growth rather than excessive risk. Weinstein defined defensive growth industries as businesses that combine cyclical resilience with sustainable long-term growth, and said this focus aligns with the long-term objectives of investors in the Gulf and around the world. Hameed said the firm’s track record in defensive growth businesses positions it well in the Middle East.
The three main strategies serve different investor needs. Private equity buys and builds companies. Credit lends to companies, which gives investors income rather than ownership. Net lease real estate owns properties leased to tenants that typically also carry the running costs of the building, such as taxes, insurance and maintenance, so the owner receives a steady rent. For Gulf institutions and family offices with long horizons, a single manager offering all three is a convenient counterparty.
A third global manager in ADGM in two weeks
New Mountain is the third large alternative asset manager to announce an ADGM presence in two weeks. On 23 September 2026, EQT opened its first Middle East office in ADGM with USD 389 billion under management. On 30 September, Pantheon opened its first Abu Dhabi office with about USD 84 billion. New Mountain is closer to Pantheon in purpose: both offices raise and service capital from regional investors, while EQT set up a platform to look for deals in the Gulf.
The flow has been building all year. ADGM ended the first half of 2026 with assets under management up 54 per cent year on year, 190 fund and asset managers against 154 a year earlier and 276 funds against 209. The managers that set up in that half oversee more than USD 2.1 trillion globally, about AED 7.7 trillion. We covered those figures in our report on ADGM results for the first half of 2026. Arvind Ramamurthy, Chief Market Development Officer at ADGM, said New Mountain’s decision reinforces Abu Dhabi’s role as a capital hub connecting international investment firms with long-term opportunities.
What the move means for business in the UAE
No rule, fee or licensing threshold changed on 6 October 2026. The opening is relevant to three groups.
The first is professional investors in the UAE: family offices, investment holding companies and institutions. They now have a senior New Mountain team on site for private equity, credit and net lease. Because the licence excludes retail clients, individuals who do not qualify as professional clients are outside its scope.
The second is operating companies in the UAE. The direct effect for them is small, because New Mountain says it will keep investing in North American middle-market companies. A UAE founder looking for equity should not expect this office to be a source of it.
The third is firms planning their own presence in ADGM. The register entry is a useful template: a local private company limited by shares, a separate FSRA authorisation for specific activities, conditions on client assets and retail clients, and a Senior Executive Officer on the ground. Registering a company and obtaining a financial services licence are two different processes, and only the second one allows a firm to advise clients or arrange deals for them.
Checklist for an investment or family structure in the UAE
- Describe the activity precisely. Holding your own investments, advising others and managing third party money are different activities with different licences.
- Check whether the activity is regulated. Advising on or arranging investments for others in ADGM requires FSRA authorisation; holding the owners’ own assets usually does not.
- Match the jurisdiction to the purpose. ADGM and DIFC suit regulated finance and holding structures; a mainland or other free zone company often suits trading and services better.
- Prepare source of funds and ownership documents early. Banks request them at account opening and fund managers request them again at subscription.
- Plan residency for owners and staff. Investors who qualify can apply for a Golden Visa; employees need work permits and residence visas through the company.
- Build real substance: an office, local management and an operating bank account make the structure credible to banks and counterparties.
How Atlant Capital can help
We handle company formation in the UAE on the mainland and in free zones, including holding and investment holding structures. We open corporate and personal accounts and prepare the documents banks actually ask for, a process explained step by step in our guide to opening a bank account in the UAE and delivered through our bank account opening service. We also arrange work permits and residence visas for founders and staff, and Golden Visas for investors who qualify.
FSRA authorisation itself is a specialised regulatory procedure run by licensed compliance consultants, and we do not provide it; accounting, audit and tax filing are handled by licensed firms from our partner network. If ADGM fits your structure, we will say so, and if a simpler route works better, we will say that too. Tell us what you are building and we will map the structure to it.
The bottom line
New Mountain Capital, with nearly USD 60 billion under management, now has an FSRA licensed entity in ADGM led by a former Blackstone Gulf coverage head. The office is built to advise and raise capital from professional investors in the region, not to invest in UAE companies, so its first effect will be felt by family offices and institutions here and by the professionals who serve them.
Source: New Mountain Capital press release, Business Wire, FSRA public register.
FAQ
Where has New Mountain Capital opened its Middle East office?
New Mountain Capital opened its office in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), announced on 6 October 2026. The local entity, New Mountain Capital Middle East Limited, is registered on the 43rd floor of Addax Port Office Tower on Al Reem Island. It holds an FSRA licence dated 22 June 2026.
How much does New Mountain Capital manage?
New Mountain Capital manages nearly USD 60 billion, about AED 220 billion, across private equity, strategic equity, credit and net lease real estate funds. The firm was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in New York. Its investments focus on defensive growth middle-market companies in North America.
Who leads New Mountain Capital in Abu Dhabi?
Shehreyar Hameed, a Managing Director who joined New Mountain in 2025, leads the office and is Senior Executive Officer of the ADGM entity. He previously covered Middle East institutional clients and family offices at Blackstone and worked at J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Goldman Sachs International. He shares Gulf coverage with Patrick O’Dolan in London.
What is New Mountain Capital Middle East Limited licensed to do?
According to the FSRA public register, the firm may arrange deals in investments and advise on investments or credit, both from 22 June 2026. It may not hold or control client assets and may not deal with retail clients. In practice the office serves professional and institutional investors in the region.
