#AbuDhabi's ADNOC to acquire Dutch-listed OCI’s stake in Fertiglobe for $3.62 bln | Reuters

Abu Dhabi's ADNOC to acquire Dutch-listed OCI’s stake in Fertiglobe for $3.62 bln | Reuters

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC)(ADNOC.UL) has agreed to buy European chemical producer OCI's (OCI.AS) entire stake in ammonia and urea producer Fertiglobe for $3.62 billion.

The transaction is the latest in a string of deals by the Abu Dhabi state oil giant as it deepens its foray into the chemicals business and will make it the majority shareholder in Fertiglobe.

ADNOC's shareholding will increase to 86.2%, with 13.8% remaining in free float on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), ADNOC and OCI said in a joint statement on Friday.

Under the terms of the agreement, ADNOC will purchase OCI’s 50% + 1 share stake in Fertiglobe at a price of 3.20 dirhams per share, representing a total purchase price of 13.28 billion dirhams ($3.62 billion).

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, Fertiglobe was formed in 2019 after OCI, backed by Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris, and ADNOC combined their ammonia and urea assets.

"This important transaction supports ADNOC’s ambitious chemicals growth strategy and accelerates our plan to establish a global growth platform for ammonia and clean ammonia," Khaled Salmeen, Executive Director, Downstream, Marketing & Trading Directorate at ADNOC was quoted as saying.

BlackRock, TPG Deal With #UAE Finds New Way to Juice ESG Returns - Bloomberg

BlackRock, TPG Deal With UAE Finds New Way to Juice ESG Returns - Bloomberg

The United Arab Emirates has agreed to retain a smaller portion of the profits generated by a $30 billion venture involving BlackRock Inc., TPG Inc. and Brookfield Asset Management Ltd., in an effort to lure more private money into climate finance deals.

The arrangement is part of a de-risking clause attached to a $5 billion strategy from Alterra, an investment vehicle launched during the COP28 summit in Dubai. In practice, the UAE’s decision to impose a ceiling on its own profits means outside investors stand to receive as much as 5 percentage points of additional returns, according to a person familiar with the terms of the deal who asked not to be named discussing nonpublic information.

Jim Coulter, founding partner and executive chairman of TPG, said the UAE’s financing structure is “pretty revolutionary.” He declined to provide figures for the terms around TPG’s funds, but said in an interview that the arrangement creates enough of a “return enhancement” to attract investors “who might not have come in otherwise.”

The UAE’s cap limits its returns to about 5% for some funds, according to a person familiar with the details of the arrangement. A spokesperson for Alterra said return thresholds and fund structures will vary from case to case.

One of the challenges facing climate finance is the lack of investments in emerging markets and developing economies, which is in part driven by the risk-return profile, the spokesperson said. The goal of the $5 billion vehicle, dubbed Alterra Transformation, is to mobilize investor capital into climate investments in the Global South, the spokesperson said.

The Alterra structure stands out as a “wonderful template” for scaling up climate funding, according to hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio. He was among the financial heavyweights attending COP28 who underscored the need for climate projects to generate commercially appealing returns if private investors are to get involved.

Exclusive: OMV, ADNOC close to agreeing deal for chemicals company tie up - sources | Reuters

Exclusive: OMV, ADNOC close to agreeing deal for chemicals company tie up - sources | Reuters

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) is closing in on a deal with Austria's OMV (OMVV.VI) to combine two entities in which the companies own stakes to create a chemicals giant, two people with knowledge of the talks said.

In July OMV said it had entered into talks to merge petrochemicals group Borealis - which is owned by OMV and ADNOC in a 75:25 split - and Borouge (BOROUGE.AD), which is 54:36 owned by ADNOC and Borealis.

An agreement is imminent between the two sides and could be announced as soon as today, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The emerging entity will be valued around $30 billion, one of the people said.

The framework agreement to be unveiled will include a capital infusion to ensure both parties have the same equity share in the new company, the person said.

ADNOC and OMV declined to comment.

OMV shares spiked higher, last up 3.6%, after Reuters reported that the two sides were close to agreement.

Previously OMV said both Borealis and Borouge would become "equal partners under a jointly controlled, listed platform for potential growth acquisitions to create a global polyolefin company".

The new company would emerge as a global heavyweight with combined annual sales of more than $20 billion. OMV Chief Executive Alfred Stern has described the transaction as having "strong and compelling industrial logic".

#UAE stock markets up on rising oil price, rate cheer | Reuters

UAE stock markets up on rising oil price, rate cheer | Reuters

Stock markets in the United Arab Emirates closed higher on Friday on rising oil prices and after the Federal Reserve indicated earlier in the week it is likely to cut borrowing costs next year.

Oil prices, a major driver for Gulf economies, were on track to notch up their first weekly rise in two months after a bullish forecast from the International Energy Agency (IEA) on oil demand for next year, with Brent futures rising 23 cents to $76.84 a barrel at 1123 GMT.

The U.S. Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and U.S. central bank chief Jerome Powell said the historic tightening of monetary policy is likely over as inflation falls faster than expected.

Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including the United Arab Emirates, is usually guided by Fed policy decisions because most regional currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar.

In Dubai, the main share index (.DFMGI) rose 0.5%, in its fourth positive session in a row, led by solid gains in financial stocks, with Emirates NBD Bank (ENBD.DU), Dubai's largest lender inching up 1.5% and Dubai Investments (DINV.DU) climbing 3.6%.

The index notched up a 1.25% weekly gain after a third consecutive weekly loss.

Abu Dhabi's index (.FTFADGI) added 0.2%, bolstered by a nearly 2% hike in Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB.AD).

The lender on Thursday said it sold its 80% stake in Abu Dhabi Commercial Properties (ADCP) to Nine Yards Plus Holding in a deal valued at 591 million dirhams ($160.94 million)

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD), the United Arab Emirates' biggest lender, was up 0.9%.

Elsewhere, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) is closing in on a deal with Austria's OMV (OMVV.VI) to combine two entities in which the companies own stakes to create a chemicals giant, two people with knowledge of the talks said.

In July, OMV said it had entered into talks to merge petrochemicals group Borealis - which is owned by OMV and ADNOC in a 75:25 split - and Borouge (BOROUGE.AD), which is 54:36 owned by ADNOC and Borealis. Bourouge shares were down 0.4%.

The index recorded a 1.03% weekly gain following three weekly declines.

Discovery Dunes Golf Course Lots for Luxury Homes Start Selling in #Dubai - Bloomberg

Discovery Dunes Golf Course Lots for Luxury Homes Start Selling in Dubai - Bloomberg

There’s no ocean view. It’s miles from the city center. And the whole project is still an expanse of desert sand.

Yet buyers are already snatching up these Dubai properties, which start at $6 million for the land, not including the cost of a new house. The development, Discovery Dunes, is being built with a $1 billion investment from US developer Discovery Land Co., which specializes in high-end residential golf courses and bought the land outright for 1 billion dirhams ($272 million). It is financing the project itself.

The project is Discovery Land’s first in the Middle East, though Founder and Chairman Michael S. Meldman says he’s negotiating a second property purchase in Dubai and is looking at several sites in Saudi Arabia. It’s a long way from Scottsdale, Arizona, where the company is based, but Meldman says he’s been looking for the right place to build in Dubai for more than 15 years.

“I remember seeing Sheikh Mohammed [bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai] on 60 Minutes early on, when he was explaining his vision,” Meldman says. “The first time I visited, you could really see what they were talking about and what’s going on there. I always thought Dubai would be one of the great places for Discovery.”

The project is set in an area called Dubai South, very near the city’s secondary airport—and its private jet terminal. Residents will have concierge service arrangements with the terminal, as well as helicopter access to bypass Dubai’s growing traffic jams, Meldman says.

Wealthy Indians Splurge On #Dubai's Luxury Real Estate - Bloomberg

Wealthy Indians Splurge On Dubai's Luxury Real Estate - Bloomberg

Adel Sajan is witnessing one of the biggest booms his firm has ever seen, as a flood of wealthy Indians snap up $250,000 apartments in the luxury Dubai skyscrapers built by his family.

His family’s own home is a 26,000-square-foot villa in Emirates Hills — a gated residential neighborhood often dubbed the Beverly Hills of Dubai. “I think every second house is an Indian house over here,” the 34-year-old managing director of Danube group said in an interview at his mansion, where the marbled living room is the size of a mini soccer field and the glass-walled garage shows off more than 15 cars, from Bentleys to Range Rovers and Lamborghinis.

The Sajans aren’t new money, but the family’s growing wealth and business are now being fueled heavily by money flooding in from the subcontinent. Indians make up 32% of the firm’s customers in the UAE, and they are contributing to some of the largest gains for Danube since Adel’s father founded it in the United Arab Emirates three decades ago.

For years, China’s rich have dominated global wealth flows but Dubai now offers one of the earliest signs yet of the potential impact India’s new millionaires and affluent families can have overseas. Reflecting one of the world’s most profound financial shifts, India saw a 4.6% jump in total household wealth last year, UBS estimates, even as North America and China saw declines. The UAE’s easy visa policies, low taxes, and proximity are making it the biggest overseas beneficiary of the South Asian country’s ascent on the money charts.