Business of Sport PIF’s $1bn Dazn deal creates new Mena sports streamer Surj Sports Investment, a unit of Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), has acquired a minority stake in UK-based global sports network Dazn. The deal, believed to be worth $1 billion, will establish new broadcasting joint venture Dazn Mena, which the companies say will broadcast live and on-demand sports from Saudi Arabia. The partnership will also […] February 18, 2025
Banking & Finance Mubadala puts $436m into BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF Mubadala has invested $436 million in BlackRock’s bitcoin exchange-traded fund. The Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund acquired 8.2 million shares in the iShares bitcoin ETF during the fourth quarter of 2024, according to Mubadala’s latest filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. iShares, managed by BlackRock, is one of the world’s largest providers of […] February 17, 2025
Markets PIF invests in delivery app DoorDash and drops Walmart Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has sold its stake in US retailer Walmart and more than doubled its holdings in ecommerce giant Amazon, it has announced. PIF also invested in food delivery business DoorDash in the three months to December 31, according to the sovereign wealth fund‘s latest filing to the US Securities and Exchange […] February 17, 2025
Banking & Finance Mubadala buys stake in Germany’s Apleona Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company will acquire a minority stake in Apleona, a German facility management services company. Mubadala’s investment was made through a consortium led by Bain Capital’s private equity team and will support Apleona’s growth and development across Europe. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals. No financial details were given. Apleona provides […] February 17, 2025
Opinion Economy Gulf sets the bar for proposed US sovereign wealth fund Plenty of questions remain, especially about how the entity will be funded February 11, 2025
Mining ADQ joins Orion in $1.2bn metals joint venture The third-largest of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds, ADQ, is setting up a $1.2 billion joint venture with the US investment company Orion Resource Partners to invest in the metals and mining sector. The 50-50 joint venture will be based in Abu Dhabi and will target long-term agreements to source essential metals and minerals, including […] January 30, 2025
Opinion Artificial Intelligence DeepSeek sell-off gives Gulf investors plenty to think about The arrival of a Chinese AI chatbot has implications for geopolitics, markets and Mena wealth funds January 28, 2025
Analysis Finance Vast Gulf wealth funds splinter to make targeted investments Sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf are increasingly doing business via wholly-owned or affiliated entities as they become too big to manage specialised investment efforts, industry watchers are saying. MGX, an Emirati artificial intelligence-focused vehicle founded last year by Abu Dhabi’s fund Mubadala and the artificial intelligence company G42, made a splash by being one […] January 27, 2025
Markets PIF’s $4bn bond sale is four-times oversubscribed Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) sold $4 billion of bonds on Wednesday in a sale that was four times oversubscribed. It marks the latest big Saudi debt sale this year, coming just two weeks after the kingdom raised $12 billion from a sovereign bond sale that was three times oversubscribed. On January 6 PIF […] January 23, 2025
Tech Elm buys PIF’s technology unit for $907m Saudi Arabia’s Elm Company has agreed to buy Thiqah Business Service Company, a wholly owned unit of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), for SAR3.4 billion ($906 million). Elm says the buyout will support its growth in the digital services space, localise technology and drive innovation. The completion of the acquisition will be subject to obtaining regulatory […] January 22, 2025
Real Estate PIF worker housing company buys luxury compound Smart Accommodation for Residential Complexes Company (Sarcc), the company established to provide housing for workers employed on major projects, has bought a luxury residential compound in Riyadh. Sarcc acquired Al Nakhla Residential Resort in Riyadh for SR2.5 billion ($667 million). The development, located in northern Riyadh, has more than 600 apartments and over 500 villas. […] January 21, 2025
Artificial Intelligence Mubadala seeks to balance AI risks and rewards Artificial intelligence “presents a significant amount of risk” but also “a lot of opportunity”, the head of one of Abu Dhabi’s largest sovereign wealth funds said this week. On Tuesday the emirate launched a new digital strategy that aims to invest AED13 billion ($3.54 billion) over the next two years. “In terms of the risks […] January 21, 2025
Mining Saudi development fund might invest $100m in Pakistan mining Saudi Arabia might invest more than $100 million in Pakistan’s mining infrastructure through its development fund to scale up operations to meet demand. Minister of industry and mineral resources Bandar Alkhorayef also confirmed that mining company Manara Minerals, a joint venture between Saudi sovereign wealth fund the Public Investment Fund and miner Ma’aden, is interested in investing […] January 16, 2025
Renewable Energy Masdar views Middle East as biggest growth market UAE’s renewable energy company Masdar considers the Middle East its biggest market, even though its target is to grow globally, a senior executive has said. “The Middle East is the biggest market for us, we are a company from here, and this market is growing significantly,” Abdulaziz Alobaidli, chief executive officer of Masdar, told AGBI […] January 15, 2025
Business of Sport PIF close to $1bn stake deal in sports network Dazn Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is close to agreeing a deal to acquire a 10 percent stake in the UK-based global sports network Dazn. The deal, which has been under discussion for more than a year, is said to be worth at least $1 billion, which would value the broadcaster at $10 billion, the New […] January 15, 2025
Banking & Finance PIF acquires 23% stake in Saudi Reinsurance Company Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has acquired a 23 percent stake in Saudi Reinsurance Company (Saudi Re) through a capital increase and subscription to new shares. Reinsurance offers insurance companies insurance of their own, helping insurers manage their risks by absorbing some of their losses. The investment will improve the reinsurer’s growth potential in the Saudi market […] January 14, 2025
Business of Sport Qatar Airways signs $97m deal to sponsor new rugby tournament Qatar Airways has agreed a $97 million deal to sponsor the new World Rugby Nations Championship. The eight-year deal will cover the qualifying matches and finals for the first four editions of the rugby union tournament from 2026 to 2034. The agreement is the biggest title sponsorship in international rugby, according to The Guardian. The […] January 13, 2025
Analysis Aviation Middle East investors turn to airports for safe returns Middle Eastern money is making its way into airports around the world as investment in aviation assets continues to catch the eye. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), the UAE’s largest sovereign wealth fund, is the latest headline-grabber as its estimated $4 billion takeover bid as part of a consortium for Malaysia’s Airports Holdings was confirmed […] January 13, 2025
Finance Saudi Arabia’s PIF invests $200m in JP Morgan fund Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has invested $200 million in a recently launched exchange-traded fund that tracks dollar-denominated bonds and sukuk issued by the kingdom’s government and quasi-state entities. The JP Morgan Saudi Arabia Aggregate Bond UCITS ETF, created in mid-December, is the first internationally listed fixed-income Saudi Arabian ETF. As such, it “further deepens […] January 9, 2025
Video length: 04:13 VIDEO Tech Gulf sovereign wealth funds tilt towards emerging markets In the past 12 months Gulf sovereign wealth funds invested almost $10 billion in China, the largest such volume in history, Diego Lopez, Singapore-based managing director of Global SWF tells AGBI. This reflected a growing bias among Gulf funds towards emerging markets and domestic economies. “Every time [investment managers] are coming across a good opportunity […] January 6, 2025
Real Estate Saudi Arabia embraces mortgage-backed securities Saudi officials have signed a preliminary deal this week to issue residential mortgage-backed securities, a first for the Gulf. The Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC), which is owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and the Hassana Investment Company, which manages the assets of the national social security and pension fund, signed the memorandum […] January 3, 2025
Economy Mubadala beats PIF in global sovereign spend in 2024 Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company outpaced Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in spending last year after the PIF reduced its global investments in 2024. Mubadala and its subsidiaries invested $29.2 billion in 2024, up from $17.5 billion in 2023, Reuters reported citing the preliminary data from research company Global SWF. That accounted for nearly 20 […] January 2, 2025
