French “Ardien” doubles its regional business from Abu Dhabi

French private equity company Ardian plans to increase the number of employees in its regional office in Abu Dhabi to about 30 people next year, as it seeks to expand its presence in the Middle East region full of emerging opportunities and cash flow that paves the way for new mega projects.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Francois Toisi, director of Ardian’s regional office in Abu Dhabi, said: “The increase in the number of employees in the company will include a team dedicated to searching for investments in green hydrogen projects throughout the Middle East and North Africa.” He added that Ardian manages investments of about $27 billion in the Middle East and North Africa, of which about $8 billion is in the region.
Ardian, which is headquartered in Paris, is one of many companies that have been attracted to Abu Dhabi, due to the latter’s growing financial weight and desire to transfer its oil wealth to new sectors and fields.
After raising $2 billion for the Clean Technology Fund last year, Ardian is close to finalizing its first investment in green hydrogen in the Middle East, through its Hy24 joint venture with Swiss infrastructure investment company FiveT Hydrogen.