After Investcorp, founded more than 30 years ago to channel Arab wealth into global investments, took a transformative step on October 25 with the purchase of a $12 billion debt business from 3i, its executive chairman talked FN through the rationale.

Investcorp, which has backed Western brands such as Tiffany, and Gucci over the years, has paid £222 million for 3i's debt management business, which is led by Jeremy Ghose and whose addition will more than double the size of Bahrain-based Investcorp's assets.