👑Al Nahyan Bumps Walmart's Waltons

Read time: 3.5 minutes

Good morning, ☀️

This week, DFM Real Estate is up 29.84%, Aramex considers a share buy-back plan, the DFM gears up to delist Gulfa General Investments, and Aqua Bridge, a Dubai-based aquaculture firm, sets its sights on a debut IPO.

Here’s what else we have for you today:

• 🤑 Nahyan Family Surpasses Waltons as World's Richest

Let’s dive in.

Markets 📈 

Money Brief 💰

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

Markets:

• Aramex Board discusses possible approval of a share buy-back plan (DFM)

• DFM to delist Gulfa General Investments by end of trading session on Dec 15, 2023 (DFM)

IPOs:

• Aqua Bridge, a Dubai-based aquaculture firm, to pursue an IPO on the Dubai Nasdaq stock exchange (SFS)

• Pure Health raised AED 3.62b in an oversubscribed IPO with demand exceeding AED 265b, pricing shares at AED 3.26 each (TNN)

• Dubai Taxi appointed BHM Capital Financial Services as a liquidity provider for the company’s shares listed on DFM (ZWY) 

M&A / Investments:

• RedBird IMI, an Abu Dhabi-backed investment fund, is poised to buy UK film and TV production firm All3Media for AED 4.7b (RTR)

• Investcorp, a Mubadala held alternative investment firm, acquired a 50% stake in the AED 17.63b infrastructure business of US firm, Corsair Capital (RTR)

• e&, a UAE telecom operator, acquired 50.03% of Careem Technologies for AED 1.47b (ZWY) 

• PTCL, an e& subsidiary, acquires 100% stake in Telenor Pakistan for AED 1.4b (ABN) 

• GFH Partners, a Dubai subsidiary of Bahrain’s GFH Financial Group, exited its first Diversified US Student Housing Portfolio, delivering total proceeds of 122% to investors after a two-year investment period (DFM)

• EasyLease, an IHC subsidiary based in Abu Dhabi, acquired a 60% stake in Ripe for an undisclosed sum (ARB) 

VC:

• Andalusia Labs, a blockchain firm, raised AED 176m in a Series A funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Mubadala Capital (RTA)

• Fundbot, a FinTech startup, raised a AED 5.5m seed-funding round led by MENA based VC Hambro Perks Oryx Fund, with support from, Aditum Investment Management Limited, Flat6Labs, MEVP, and PlusVC (TWT)

• Seez, a Dubai-based tech startup, completed a bridge funding round (TXM)

• HyveGeo, a UAE climatetech startup, raised a pre-Seed round to boost green plans in GCC led by Systemanova (ZWY)

Partnerships / Projects:

• Shenzhen and Abu Dhabi Stock Exchanges sign a memorandum to boost cross-border investment and listings (RTR)

• Aldar Properties partners with Johnson Controls to launch Abu Dhabi’s first ‘cooling as a service’ project (JCS)

• Abu Dhabi-based International Resources Holding forms a strategic partnership with Jubilee Metals Group to recover copper from Zambia (RTR)

• GULFNAV, a DFM traded maritime company, forms a Joint Venture with Monaco-based Scorpio Services Holding to deliver vessel management solutions (ZWY)

• Mashreq and London based fintech, Cashew, collaborate to form a new personal loan program (ZWY)

• Du, signs agreement with MBME Pay, a UAE based payment services provider, to expand its digitization services (ADX) 

• AD Ports Group signs MoU with UK-based LIBERTY Steel to explore plans to host a green iron production facility in the Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi (ADP)

• Accenture partners with Commercial Bank of Dubai to drive technology transformation (ERP)

• Al Fardan Exchange signs MoU with Fuze, a digital asset infrastructure provider, to expand digital asset capabilities (ASH)

Fundraising

• Mubadala Investment, a state-investor, and Ares Management will partner with Abu Dhabi’s Aldar Properties on a AED 3.67b private credit fund that will invest in real estate across the UK and Europe (BBG)

• Dubai is setting up a new Dubai Investment Fund to house assets worth “billions of dollars” and invest government money locally and internationally (BBG)

• Golub Capital, a US-based AED 220b direct lender and asset manager, plans to set up a UAE office to raise more funds for private credit investment (TNN)

Personnel

• Emirates Insurance announced the retirement of its COO Mr. Paul Mcleod effective immediately (ADX)

• SHUAA Capital appointed Hamda Eid AlMheiri to its Board of Directors following her role with ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company (ADX)

Crypto / FX: 

• Binance announced the withdrawal of a license application in Abu Dhabi (BBG)

• Project Diamond, a Coinbase and Coinbase Asset Management crypto platform, debuts before entry into the Abu Dhabi Global Market RegLab sandbox (CNB)

• Bybit, a UAE-based cryptocurrency exchange, launches Spot X, a spot trading aggregator (GCN)

• UAE Ministry of Climate Change & Environment and the COP28 Presidency endorse launch of the Voluntary Recycling Credits initiative, a blockchain-based system for trading recycling credits to offset solid waste (PCI)

• CoinMENA, a Dubai subsidiary of Bahrain-based CoinMENA, acquired a VASP license from Dubai's VARA (CNG)

• Dubai’s VARA awards a conditional crypto license to climate-friendly Web3 firm, AYA, for offering crypto asset and investment services (BSW)

• UAE based Seagrass and The Hashgraph Association launch co-funded carbon credit Web3 identity wallet (ZWY)

Real Estate: 

• ESG Hospitality, a subsidiary of Emirates Stallions Group, announces complete sale of all branded apartments at its first development project, the Mallside Residence and Hotel in Dubai (ZWY)

• RAK Properties partners with IHG Hotels & Resorts to launch 'Staybridge Suites Mina Al Arab' on Hayat Island, a 156-key property (IHG)

The Big Deal 👑

Abu Dhabi's Al Nahyan Family Claims Global Wealth Throne

The Al Nahyan family, worth more than Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffet combined, just toppled Walmart’s Waltons as the richest family for 2023.

What Happened:

• A seismic shift in global wealth has placed the Al Nahyan family of Abu Dhabi at the top of Bloomberg's annual ranking, overtaking the Waltons of Walmart by $45 billion.

• This marks the first time a Middle Eastern royal family has led the list, which also includes Qatar's Al Thanis in the top five.

• The now world's richest families added a jaw-dropping $1.5 trillion to their collective wealth in just one year.

Why it Matters:

This change signifies a new era in global wealth, highlighting the increasing economic influence of Middle Eastern dynasties. The Al Nahyans' diverse investments, ranging from high fashion to space exploration, have been a key factor in their financial ascendancy.

Meme Freshener

That’s all for now! 

See you in your inbox with more updates next week 👋🏾

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.