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<h1 class="text-4xl md:text-5xl font-bold mb-6">US Deal Criteria</h1>
<p class="text-xl text-gray-600 mb-12">Abu Dhabi capital is highly selective. Below are the baseline criteria expected by sophisticated institutional and family office allocators when evaluating US opportunities.</p>

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    <h2>Asset Class Specifics</h2>

    <h3>1. Private Equity (Buyout & Growth)</h3>
    <ul>
        <li><strong>Target EBITDA:</strong> $10M - $50M (Mid-market focus avoids heavy competition from mega-cap funds while offering scalable deployment).</li>
        <li><strong>Margin Profile:</strong> >20% EBITDA margins indicating strong pricing power.</li>
        <li><strong>Sectors:</strong> <a href="/guides/b2b-saas/">Enterprise Software</a>, <a href="/guides/healthcare-lifesciences/">Healthcare Services</a>, <a href="/guides/industrial-automation/">Industrial Automation</a>.</li>
        <li><strong>Structure:</strong> Strong preference for control or significant minority with board representation.</li>
    </ul>

    <h3>2. Venture Capital (Late Stage)</h3>
    <ul>
        <li><strong>Stage:</strong> Series B onwards. Pure seed/early-stage is typically handled by specialized local managers (e.g., Shorooq Partners) rather than direct sovereign allocation to the US.</li>
        <li><strong>Revenue:</strong> >$10M ARR with proven unit economics.</li>
        <li><strong>Thesis Alignment:</strong> Deep tech, AI infrastructure, and <a href="/guides/energy-transition/">climate tech</a> align with national visions (e.g., UAE Vision 2031).</li>
    </ul>

    <h3>3. Real Estate & Infrastructure</h3>
    <ul>
        <li><strong>Ticket Size:</strong> $50M+ minimum equity check for direct deals.</li>
        <li><strong>Asset Types:</strong> Data centers, logistics/industrial, multi-family in high-growth US sunbelt markets.</li>
        <li><strong>Yield:</strong> Cash-flowing assets with strong inflation-hedged yields.</li>
    </ul>

    <h2>Structuring Requirements</h2>
    <p>A great asset can be ruined by a poor structure. Allocators require tax-efficient, transparent, and enforceable legal frameworks.</p>

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        <table class="min-w-full text-left border-collapse border border-gray-300">
            <thead>
                <tr class="bg-gray-100">
                    <th class="border border-gray-300 p-3 font-bold">Element</th>
                    <th class="border border-gray-300 p-3 font-bold">Standard Requirement</th>
                    <th class="border border-gray-300 p-3 font-bold">Dealbreaker</th>
                </tr>
            </thead>
            <tbody>
                <tr>
                    <td class="border border-gray-300 p-3">Jurisdiction</td>
                    <td class="border border-gray-300 p-3">Delaware, Cayman, or <a href="/adgm-structures/">ADGM</a></td>
                    <td class="border border-gray-300 p-3">Offshore jurisdictions without robust common law framework.</td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <td class="border border-gray-300 p-3">Tax Structuring</td>
                    <td class="border border-gray-300 p-3">Blocker corporations for ECI/UBTI mitigation.</td>
                    <td class="border border-gray-300 p-3">Failure to address US withholding taxes (use our <a href="/tools/tax-withholding/">Tax Tool</a>).</td>
                </tr>
                <tr>
                    <td class="border border-gray-300 p-3">Governance</td>
                    <td class="border border-gray-300 p-3">Negative control rights on major decisions.</td>
                    <td class="border border-gray-300 p-3">Total lack of information rights or observer seats on large checks.</td>
                </tr>
            </tbody>
        </table>
    </div>

    <h2>The Evaluation Process</h2>
    <p>Institutional allocators in Abu Dhabi utilize rigorous, multi-stage Investment Committee (IC) processes. Expect a 3 to 6-month timeline for net-new relationships.</p>
    <p>To prepare, ensure your <a href="/co-investment-models/">Co-Investment documentation</a> is ready alongside the main fund materials, and utilize a <a href="/tools/capital-call-model/">Capital Call Modeler</a> to provide precise cash flow expectations.</p>

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