Private Capital Summit Dubai lands amid record Gulf dealmaking

CapLink Group’s Private Capital Summit Dubai is set for Sept. 15 at The Lana, bringing lenders, buyers, lawyers and administrators together as Gulf private capital keeps reshaping how deals are financed, sold and governed. The event comes after regional M&A hit a record $106.1 billion last year and will feature BlueFive Capital founder Hazem Ben-Gacem as keynote speaker.

Why it matters: - The Gulf is no longer just receiving capital from abroad. Regional institutions are increasingly financing deals, providing exit routes and setting the terms of private market transactions. - The summit arrives as Gulf dealmaking keeps expanding through private capital, private credit and secondary sales rather than waiting for public listings. - The event is designed to convene the people who structure, finance, administer and advise on those deals in one room.

What happened: - CapLink Group said the Private Capital Summit, Dubai will take place at The Lana in Dubai on Sept. 15, 2026. - The one-day forum will bring together lenders, buyers, lawyers and administrators focused on regional private capital transactions. - BlueFive Capital founder and Chief Executive Hazem Ben-Gacem will deliver the afternoon keynote. - Matthew Benson, MENA Private Capital Leader at EY-Parthenon, will chair the day.

The details: - Regional mergers and acquisitions reached a record $106.1 billion across 884 transactions in 2025, according to EY. - Owners increasingly sold stakes to one another and raised liquidity through private markets instead of waiting for public listings. - Regulators across the Gulf are overhauling fund frameworks on parallel tracks. - Institutions operating across those jurisdictions are building their own governance capacity and appointing senior legal and compliance officers. - The summit’s fund structuring panel includes senior legal and compliance leaders from the Emirates Investment Authority, BlueFive Capital, BC Partners, Habtoor Group and Abacus Group. - Working sessions will cover continuation vehicles, net asset value financing, operational due diligence and fund structuring. - The private lending panel includes First Abu Dhabi Bank, Ares Management, HPS Investment Partners, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Ruya Partners. - EY and ecosystem data say roughly $4.1 billion of structured private debt has been underwritten across the GCC startup and mid-market ecosystem. - Those sources also project regional private credit to clear $12 billion in targeted deal flow, against a regional alternative asset base managed by entities holding more than $2 trillion. - The secondaries panel includes Coller Capital, StepStone, HarbourVest, Lexington Partners and Patria. - Akin will convene a roundtable on continuation vehicles and GP liquidity solutions. - Jefferies said global secondary market volume reached $240 billion in 2025, up 48%, with GP-led transactions accounting for about half. - The summit is backed by EY-Parthenon as headline partner. - Platinum sponsors include Clifford Chance, White & Case, A&O Shearman, Akin, Gibson Dunn, Skadden, DLA Piper and Alvarez & Marsal. - FAB Bank, Abacus and Cleary Gottlieb are gold sponsors. - The Financial Times is the official media partner, and Preqin, part of BlackRock, is the official data partner. - Media accreditation and press enquiries go to NorthStar Insights at press@northstar-insights.com. - CapLink Group says its events have brought together more than 2,000 delegates and 250-plus speakers. - The Private Capital Summit, Dubai is expected to convene more than 300 senior decision-makers and will cover value creation, fund structuring, secondaries, private credit, venture capital and AI.

Between the lines: - The summit’s format signals where the market is heading: not just fundraising, but the full mechanics of deal execution, financing and exit strategy. - The strong focus on governance and compliance suggests Gulf private markets are maturing into a more institutional and rules-heavy environment. - The mix of regional banks, global credit managers and secondary market specialists points to a market that is becoming more self-contained and more sophisticated. - CapLink founder Nawshad Noorkhan framed the record M&A year as evidence that the market is changing shape, not slowing down. - EY-Parthenon’s Benson said the Gulf remains resilient despite geopolitical headwinds, supported by diversification agendas, sovereign wealth capital and disciplined investors.

What's next: - The summit will use the Sept. 15 program to test investor sentiment for the second half of 2026. - Discussion is expected to center on where private capital can still find the strongest opportunities across sectors and geographies. - Regional dealmakers will also be watching how quickly new fund rules and governance expectations settle across Gulf jurisdictions.

The bottom line: - Gulf private capital is moving from growth story to operating system, and Dubai is becoming a key meeting point for the firms that run it.