🪙Asset Managers Hunt for Abu Dhabi Cash

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Good Afternoon, ☀️

PureHealth shares soar 69%, Bayanat and Yahsat to merge into an AED 15b aerospace powerhouse, FSRA to curb crypto transaction anonymity, Mashreq Bank shareholders approve AED 9.17b Sukuk Program and the luxury Armani Residential and Ritz-Carlton Residences launch.

Let’s dive in.

Markets 📈 

Money Brief 💰

A roundup of the biggest deals in the UAE this week.

Markets:

• Mashreq Bank shareholders approved establishing a AED 9.17b Sharia Compliant Sukuk Issuance Funding Program (DFM)

• FCI announced a temporary 45 to 60-day suspension of cement and clinker sales, anticipating revenue loss in Q1, 2024 (ADX)

• Dubai Insurance Company has received an 'A' rating from Fitch Ratings (FRD)

IPOs:

• PureHealth shares rose up to 69% in its debut day of trading on the ADX after an IPO that raised AED 3.62b for 10% of the business (RTR)

M&A / Investments:

• ADNOC is preparing to increase its takeover offer for Covestro and value the German plastics and chemicals maker at AED 45.17b (BBG)

• Bayanat and Yahsat plan a merger to form Space42 with an implied market capitalization of over AED 15b, making it one of the most valuable publicly listed space companies (DTL)

• ADNOC agreed to acquire a 50% stake in the fertilizer unit of European chemical producer OCI for AED 13.2b cash (BBG)

• CYVN Holdings, an Abu Dhabi-backed fund, invested AED 8b in China’s Nio for a 20.1% stake in the EV maker (BBG)

• AD Ports Group is nearing a deal to acquire a stake in the Turkish port of Izmir, valued at AED 1.83b (RTR)

• Positive Zero, a Dubai-based envirotech business, secured an investment of up to AED 1.47b from BlackRock through a diversified infrastructure fund (RTR)

• Jadwa Investment, a Saudi firm, has acquired Black Spoon Group, a Dubai-based food and beverage operator (AGB)

VC:

• Farcana, a Dubai-based gaming studio, raised an AED 36.7m seed round led by Animoca Brands and Fenbushi Capital (ZWY)

• Hakbah, a Saudi Fintech platform, raised AED 18.7m Series A funding led by Dubai-based VentureSouq with participation from M-Capital, and UAE based Bunat Ventures, Global Ventures and Aditum Investment Management (TNN)

• Zeroe, a UAE-based cleantech, raised AED 8m in its oversubscribed Series Seed funding round led by Indonesian investor Owen Rahadiyan (WMD)

• Terra, a UAE-based EV start-up, raised AED 7.34m in its Seed Funding round from a group of angel investors (NCA)

• Trends, an analytics platform in the UAE, raised AED 3.67m in a funding round from investors at the DIFC Innovation Hub (WMD)

• OneDegree, a Hong Kong insuretech firm, secured an undisclosed investment from Dubai Insurance Company for its Series B funding round as part of a partnership to offer digital asset insurance in the UAE (FTN)

Partnerships / Projects:

• Aldar Properties, Tadweer, and Polygreen formed a joint venture to launch Ecoloop, a circular model to divert waste from Aldar's assets and convert it into sellable byproducts (ALD)

• Aldar Properties partnered with Yellow Door Energy to provide 34 megawatts of solar power to properties in the UAE (ZWY)

• Taqa has signed an MoU to potentially become a shareholder in the AED 7.5b project to link a subsea power cable between Greece and Cyprus (TQA)

• Salik, Dubai’s exclusive toll gate operator, signed an MoU with TAMM to enhance services and provide digital solutions (ZWY)

Debt:

• Gulf Cement shareholders approve to extinguish accumulated losses of AED 182.2m as of Sept 30, 2023 (ADX)

Fundraising:

• ADIB has arranged an AED 1b sustainable bilateral facility for Aldar Properties (ZWY)

Personnel:

• PureHealth appointed co-founder Shaista Asif as Group CEO ahead of ADX stock listing debut (ZWY)

• RPM’s Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil Parambath Pokkinari Hashim resigns as chairman, continuing as a board member (ADX)

• Space42 to appoint Mansoor al Mansoori as chairman, Bakheet al Katheeri as Vice Chairman, Karim Michel Sabbagh as managing director and proposed board of directors Tareq al Hosani, Maryam al Mheiri, Ismail Abdulla and Kiril Evtimov (MOA)

• GulfNav to consider approving resignation of Mr. Ahmad Kilani from his board membership positions (ADX)

Crypto / FX: 

• Changer.ae has been granted a license by FSRA of Abu Dhabi Global Market to operate as a cryptocurrency custodian service (CFI)

• FSRA updated its Anti-Money Laundering and sanctions rules to curb anonymity in crypto transactions (CMC)

• Fuze, a UAE-based digital assets infrastructure provider, is partnering with Circle Internet Financial to expand the adoption of US-dollar-backed stablecoins across the Middle East (FTT)

Real Estate: 

• Sankari Properties, a Dubai developer, plans to build AED 3.67b twin luxury residential towers at the Business Bay (TNN)

• Dar Al Arkan, a Saudi real estate company, partners with Pagani Automobili to launch the AED 800m DaVinci Residential Tower in Dubai (TDB) 

• Arada, a Sharjah-based developer, opens sales of The Armani Residential luxury project at the Palm Jumeirah with units starting at AED 20m (GFN)

• RAK Hospitality launches Ritz-Carlton Residences, a series of luxury villas at Al Wadi nature reserve (ABN)

• Deyaar and Arady Properties have signed a MoU to establish a joint residential development project at Al Reem Island in Abu Dhabi (ZWY)

• Teraciel Properties, launches The Imperial, a mansion in Dubai Hills (MNF)

The Big Deal 👑

Abu Dhabi Becomes ‘Daily Davos’ as Asset Managers Hunt for Cash

Some of the world’s top alternative asset managers have been flooding the Middle East in search of cash — and they’re not stopping at Abu Dhabi’s $1.5 trillion in sovereign wealth funds.

What Happened:

• Amine Bouchentouf of Abu Dhabi's Atlas Holdings reports a surge in meetings with top asset managers, from one a month to four almost daily, indicating a significant shift in the financial landscape.

• Those names include billionaires such as Trian Fund Management’s Nelson Peltz, Brevan Howard Asset Management founder Alan Howard, Guggenheim Capital’s Alan Schwartz and TCI Fund’s Chris Hohn, according to Bouchentouf.

Why it Matters:

This transformation positions Abu Dhabi as a 'Daily Davos', a global hub that reliably provides ample long-term capital and attracts international money from Investors such Ray Dalio and Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris who have moved their family offices or set up outposts in the emirate’s international financial free zone.

Meme Freshener

That’s all for now! 

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DISCLAIMER: This information is prepared by Transnational LLC ("Money Souk") and uses public and reliable sources. Money Souk nor any of its directors, isn't liable for its content or use. It's not intended as investment advice or a solicitation to trade financial products.