Placement agent
A firm engaged by a company or fund to find and introduce investors and run the fundraising process on its behalf. The agent prepares the materials, identifies suitable investors, makes the approach and supports the negotiation through to close. A placement agent acts for the party raising capital - it is not itself an investor, does not manage funds, and never takes custody of the money being raised.
Capital advisory
Advice and execution support around how a company structures and runs a capital raise: how much to raise, in what form (debt, equity or a blend), from whom, on what terms, and in what sequence. A capital advisor coordinates the process; legal, tax and regulatory advice remains with the company's own professional advisers.
Sovereign wealth fund (SWF)
A state-owned investment fund. The Gulf hosts several of the world's largest, including funds in Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait. SWFs invest across public markets, private equity, infrastructure and real estate, and increasingly take direct stakes in operating companies alongside their fund commitments. Allocations are institutional, process-driven and slow to win - but large and patient once made.
Family office
A private organisation managing the wealth of one family (a single family office) or several (a multi-family office). Gulf family offices range from informal investment committees to institutional-grade platforms with CIOs and sector teams. They are often faster and more flexible than sovereign funds and frequently invest directly in private companies, which is why they sit at the centre of most Gulf-bound raises for Western operators.
Institutional allocator
Any professional organisation that deploys capital into funds or companies at scale: sovereign funds, family offices, pension funds, insurers, endowments and funds of funds. "Allocator" is the useful umbrella term when the exact structure of the investor is not the point.
Co-investment
An investment made directly into a company alongside a lead investor or fund, rather than into the fund itself. Gulf investors increasingly ask for co-investment rights because they carry no fund-level fees and give the investor direct exposure to a specific deal. For a company raising capital, a co-investment offer is often the fastest route to a large single ticket.
Direct investment
Capital deployed into an operating company itself, as opposed to a commitment to a fund that then invests. Gulf family offices and sovereign funds have both shifted materially toward direct deals over the past several years, particularly where the company has a link to the region.
Dry powder
Capital that investors have raised or allocated but not yet deployed. High levels of dry powder across Gulf allocators are one reason well-prepared Western raises are being completed faster in the region than in traditional Western private markets.
Anchor investor
The first significant investor to commit to a raise. A credible anchor changes the economics of the whole process: it validates the terms, shortens every later investor's diligence, and lets the company negotiate from momentum rather than need.
Ticket size
The amount a single investor commits in one transaction. Gulf tickets for established companies typically start in the low millions and scale far higher for the right mandate; knowing an investor's normal ticket range before the first meeting prevents weeks of misdirected effort.
Growth capital
Equity or debt raised by an established, revenue-generating company to fund expansion rather than survival. This is the profile Gulf allocators most often back in Western operators: real revenue, a credible use of funds, and a regional angle the capital can unlock.
Private placement
A sale of shares or debt to a small number of chosen investors rather than a public offering. Most cross-border Gulf-Western deals are private placements, documented by a subscription agreement rather than a prospectus.
Teaser
The short, usually anonymous, document that opens a raise: one or two pages describing the business, the market and the amount sought, without naming the company. Investors signal interest from the teaser before receiving the full memorandum under NDA.
Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM)
The detailed document a serious investor receives after signing a confidentiality agreement: the business in full, financials, market, team, terms and use of proceeds. It is the single most important document in a raise - investors decide whether to engage almost entirely on its quality.
Data room (VDR)
The organised repository of documents investors work through in diligence: contracts, financial statements, corporate records, tax filings, key metrics. A complete, indexed data room shortens diligence by weeks; an incomplete one quietly kills deals that were otherwise won.
Term sheet
The short document setting out the key commercial terms of an investment before full legal documents are drafted: amount, price, structure, rights, conditions. It is mostly non-binding, but it is where the real negotiation happens.
GCC
The Gulf Cooperation Council: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. As a capital bloc it combines state sovereign funds, a dense family-office ecosystem and national economic-diversification programmes that are actively pulling Western companies and expertise into the region.