Istithmar PJSC, the international investment house based in the United Arab Emirates, Thursday announced an investment of US $100 million in a new financial services firm headed by Joseph Perella, a reputed former Morgan Stanley investment banker.

The investment in Perella Weinberg Partners and its investment management business now raises Perella's total capital to over $1.1 billion. The list of 11 investors so far includes Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.

Sultan bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman of Istithmar expressed confidence in the company's outlook.

This is a wonderful and exciting opportunity for Istithmar to partner with Perella Weinberg Partners. We have full faith in Joe and his team of seasoned professionals, said Sulayem.

Perella said he looked forward to working with Istithmar.

We greatly welcome the association with Istithmar, a leading alternative investment firm, and are delighted to be affiliated with one of Dubai's premier financial institutions, Perella said. We look forward to working together to provide exceptional results for all of our partners.

Among the financial backers in the Istithmar deal is the Gulf Investment Corp., owned by the GCC member countries, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Perella Weinberg Partners formerly opened Thursday amid a heated market for merger and advisory services. Global merger activity this year has surpassed its former peak in 2000 and has set a new record year-to-date volume of $1.653 trillion, according to Dealogic.

Perella began putting Perella Weinberg together since quitting Morgan Stanley last spring during a management shuffle that toppled Chief Executive Philip Purcell.

The Weinberg in the name comes from Peter Weinberg, the former head of Goldman Sachs' Europe operations and the grandson of Sidney Weinberg, who led the company from 1930 to 1969.

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