- NinjaTrader, a retail futures platform acquired by Kraken for $1.5 billion last year, has secured a $100 million senior secured loan from Gulf Partners Group (GPG), a Bahrain-based investment firm that launched in January 2026.
- The deal is GPG’s first major investment; the firm was founded by former executives of alternative investment firm Arcapita Group and is backed by Kuwait-listed Arzan Financial Group (Al Bahar family), with plans to expand to a pan-GCC platform.
- The loan deepens Kraken’s Middle East footprint after its parent company Payward secured a preliminary license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) in May; the two firms plan to explore additional regional partnerships.
- Gulf deal activity has remained resilient despite the Iran conflict: Blackstone invested $250 million in a UAE payments firm, Brookfield and GIP are competing for a $7.5 billion Kuwait pipeline stake, and Aramco is preparing a privatization program targeting up to $35 billion.
What Happened?
NinjaTrader, the US retail futures trading platform that Kraken acquired for $1.5 billion last year, has closed a $100 million senior secured private credit facility with Gulf Partners Group, a Bahrain-based investment firm that only launched in January 2026. The deal is GPG’s first major transaction and signals the firm’s ambition to move quickly into cross-border private credit deals. GPG was founded by former executives of Arcapita Group Holdings and is backed by Arzan Financial Group, a Kuwait-listed firm tied to the Al Bahar family. The loan will help NinjaTrader fund expansion while also deepening Kraken’s ties to the Gulf, following Kraken parent Payward’s preliminary Dubai VARA licensing in May.
Why It Matters?
The deal is a small but telling data point in a larger story: Middle East capital is not sitting on the sidelines despite the Iran war. GPG’s CIO was direct — “We’re not finding any steal deals right now” — noting that international and regional investors are competing intensely for quality Gulf opportunities. The broader landscape backs that up: Blackstone put $250 million into an Abu Dhabi payments firm in March; Brookfield and BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners are in advanced stages for a $7.5 billion Kuwait pipeline stake; and Aramco is lining up a privatization program that could raise up to $35 billion. For Kraken specifically, the deal reflects a deliberate strategy to build financial relationships in the Gulf as it pursues regulatory licensing across the UAE and broader MENA region — giving NinjaTrader access to Gulf capital while giving GPG a foothold in the rapidly expanding crypto-adjacent fintech space.
What’s Next?
GPG says it is in advanced stages on deals in the energy services and healthcare sectors in the Gulf, with a target deal size of up to $100 million and roughly 25% of its portfolio expected to be outside the Gulf region. As the Iran peace deal stabilizes regional energy and shipping dynamics, Gulf-based investment firms are likely to accelerate deployment — both domestically and into international assets like NinjaTrader. For Kraken, the relationship with GPG and its broader Gulf licensing push suggest the company is positioning itself as a full-service financial platform in the region ahead of what could be a significant expansion of regulated crypto markets in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Source: Bloomberg
