Easy come, easy go

11 September 2009 By Una Galani Follow @ugalani

The emirate used to savour trophy investments Cirque du Soleil, GLG, Standard Chartered, Perella Weinberg and Barneys. Now they could all be sold as part of the restructuring of government vehicle Istithmar World. These days, cash takes precedence over cachet.

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Istithmar World, a fund owned by the government of Dubai, confirmed on September 9 that cochief investment officers John Amato and Felix Herlihy were leaving the firm to pursue other opportunities.

Istithmar is freezing its investments as part of a restructuring process that could end in the sale of the fund or portfolio, according to a Bloomberg report on September 11. The report added that the job of chief executive David Jackson is also under review.

In an emailed statement the company said: "Istithmar World is one of Dubai World's key subsidiaries, actively managing a portfolio of investments worldwide, and will continue to be a key subsidiary into the future."

Istithmar had $9bn of assets under management in 2008, according to an article written by the Financial Times and republished on the fund's own website.

Perella Weinberg is advising Istithmar on the restructuring of Barney's.

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