Blue Owl Capital has opened a new office in Abu Dhabi Global Market, adding another international alternative asset manager to the emirate’s expanding financial center as global investment firms continue to build closer ties with Middle Eastern institutional capital.
The New York-listed firm said the Abu Dhabi office will serve as its regional headquarters in the Middle East. The office sits within ADGM, Abu Dhabi’s international financial center, and includes members of Blue Owl’s Institutional Capital and GP Stakes teams.
The opening gives Blue Owl a more formal operating base in a market where sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, family offices, and other long-term investors have become increasingly important to global private markets firms.
A New Hub for Existing Regional Ambitions
Blue Owl framed the Abu Dhabi opening as an expansion of existing relationships rather than an entry into unfamiliar territory. Doug Ostrover and Marc Lipschultz, the firm’s co-chief executive officers, said the Middle East was already part of Blue Owl’s business and that Abu Dhabi represented the “next phase” of regional growth.
Abu Dhabi is not simply competing for foreign nameplates; it is trying to pull investment managers into a deeper operating relationship with the local market. A regional headquarters gives Blue Owl proximity to clients, regulators, and capital allocators at a time when private credit, GP stakes, and real assets remain prominent areas of activity for institutional investors.
The firm’s Middle East build-out has been underway for some time. In May 2024, Blue Owl hired Haitham Abdulkarim to oversee institutional business in the region, saying at the time that he would focus on scaling teams across Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Abdulkarim previously worked at BlackRock and held senior roles connected to regional private markets and investor relations.
ADGM’s Role in Blue Owl’s Regional Push
ADGM has become one of the Gulf’s growing financial hubs, helped by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign capital base, regulatory framework, and international positioning. The center has attracted a growing roster of banks, asset managers, private equity firms, hedge funds, and fintech companies looking to serve the wider Middle East, Africa, and South Asia corridor.
Blue Owl’s arrival follows a period of growth at ADGM. In May, ADGM said assets under management in its ecosystem grew 57% in the first quarter of 2026, while the number of asset and fund managers rose to 179. It also reported more than 13,000 active licenses and 365 financial services firms at the end of the quarter.
Those figures help explain why global firms are choosing to establish physical teams in Abu Dhabi rather than serve the market from London, New York, or other regional offices. The appeal for firms is partly based on proximity to major institutional investors, regional deal flow and a legal and regulatory environment designed for international finance groups.
Alternative Assets Take a Larger Role
Blue Owl is a large alternative asset manager. As of March 31, 2026, the firm reported $315 billion in assets under management across its credit, real assets and GP Strategic Capital platforms.
Its Abu Dhabi office therefore lands at the intersection of two major trends: the rise of private markets as a growing part of institutional portfolios and the Gulf’s growing influence as both a capital source and a financial services destination.
Private markets have drawn attention in recent years as companies and investors look beyond banks and public markets for capital. GP stakes, another Blue Owl focus area, involve taking minority interests in alternative asset managers. Real assets, including net lease real estate and infrastructure-adjacent strategies, have also remained part of institutional allocation discussions.
The Middle East has become an important market for all three themes. Regional investors have large pools of long-duration capital and often seek diversified global exposure. At the same time, global managers are under pressure to show commitment through local presence, not just periodic fundraising visits.
A Senior Local Presence
Haitham Abdulkarim, managing director and senior executive officer of Blue Owl’s Abu Dhabi office, said: "Over the last decade, the Middle East has emerged as both a strategic global market and a sophisticated investor across asset classes, particularly alternatives. We believe proximity to clients is fundamental to understanding their objectives and building lasting partnerships. As our platform continues to grow, expanding into Abu Dhabi – one of the region’s leading financial centers – was a natural evolution for the firm, enabling us to meet clients where they are and in a jurisdiction that supports long-term partnerships and institutional growth."
His appointment and the new office give Blue Owl a senior regional face with experience across BlackRock, Mubadala-backed Waha Capital, Samena Capital, HSBC, and BNP Paribas.
That local leadership may prove important in a market where relationships are built over years and where institutional investors often expect managers to understand regional priorities, governance expectations, and long-term partnership structures.
ADGM’s chief market development officer, Arvind Ramamurthy, said: “We are pleased to welcome Blue Owl to ADGM as it continues to expand its presence in the region. The firm’s decision to establish an office in Abu Dhabi reflects the growing depth and sophistication of the region’s private capital landscape, as well as the increasing role ADGM plays in connecting global asset managers with institutional investors. Blue Owl’s presence will further strengthen our ecosystem by broadening the range of capabilities and expertise within ADGM’s fast-growing community of leading global firms. As the international asset management hub, ADGM remains committed to enabling firms like Blue Owl to scale and contribute to long-term growth from Abu Dhabi.”
Abu Dhabi Sends a Wider Market Signal
The opening also adds to the competitive story unfolding among Gulf financial centers. Dubai remains a major regional hub, while Riyadh is pushing aggressively to attract international firms under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 program. Abu Dhabi’s proposition is different: it combines sovereign wealth concentration, a developing regulatory ecosystem, and a strategy aimed at making ADGM a global institutional capital hub.
The practical significance of the announcement is that Abu Dhabi is no longer just a place where global asset managers visit clients. Increasingly, it is becoming a place where they build teams, seek licenses, and organize regional strategy.
The new Abu Dhabi office is Blue Owl’s seventh office in the EMEA region and its 23rd globally. Its immediate role will be to support institutional capital relationships and GP stakes activity across the UAE and the broader Middle East.
