#UAE businessman Sheikh Khaled agrees deal for Derby County | Financial Times

UAE businessman Sheikh Khaled agrees deal for Derby County | Financial Times

Derby County has agreed a takeover deal with United Arab Emirates’ businessman Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nahyan. 

The English club, which plays in the Championship, the tier below the English Premier League, said on Friday that it has agreed a deal in principle to sell the club to Derventio Holdings (UK), an entity ultimately controlled by Sheikh Khaled, a relative of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family which controls Manchester City. Derby County did not give financial details of the deal. 

The sale of the club by Mel Morris, a local entrepreneur known for his investment the makers of the Candy Crush video game, to the Emirati underlines the changing profile of the owners of English football clubs. 

The English Football League, which runs the three divisions below the Premier League, has approved Derventio under its ownership test, Derby said, adding the deal was expected to close “very soon”.

Middle East pact a chance for region’s diamond trade to shine globally | Financial Times

Middle East pact a chance for region’s diamond trade to shine globally | Financial Times

The diamond industry rarely sees developments that feel like a turning point. Yet the normalisation agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates — and the subsequent direct trade deal between Israel and Dubai’s diamond bourses — has the markings of one. 

After years of discreet collaboration, the pact permits direct flights, and therefore direct shipping of stones, between the two countries. The ripple effect on the industry “could turn out to be much more significant than what it looks like on the surface”, says Tobias Kormind, managing director of London-based online jeweller 77 Diamonds. “It’s more of a good-faith agreement than anything else at this point, but it goes a long way and represents a lot,” says New York-based diamond analyst Paul Ziminsky. “As geopolitical relations ease, it makes globalisation [of the industry] more realistic and easier.” 

According to Yoram Dvash, president of the Israel Diamond Exchange and newly elected president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, this new deal will stimulate activity and allow for an increase in distribution of goods. 

“The industry has been suffering from a lack of profitability, a shortage of financing and reduced demand,” he says. “It needs to transform to meet the demands of the 21st century.” Furthermore, the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have been disastrous, costing the industry 80-85 per cent of its business in March and April, he says, with fears of a second wave also taking their toll.