#AbuDhabi’s 2PointZero to Buy US Firm for $2.25 Billion Despite Iran War - Bloomberg

Abu Dhabi’s 2PointZero to Buy US Firm for $2.25 Billion Despite Iran War - Bloomberg

One of Abu Dhabi’s newest investing giants is picking up the pace of dealmaking in the face of an escalating war in the region, unveiling an investment in fitness band maker Whoop Inc. and agreeing to buy a US gas infrastructure firm.

2PointZero Group PJSC, part of a business empire overseen by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said it is among investors in Boston-based Whoop’s new funding round that values the firm at $10.1 billion. Less than a day earlier, the Emirati firm agreed to acquire a 100% stake in Traverse Midstream Partners LLC for $2.25 billion.

The region is showcasing a continued appetite for dealmaking despite the ongoing war. Whoop’s Series G round also included other marquee names from the Middle East, including Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co.

Earlier this month, Savvy Games Group — a unit of Saudi Arabia’s $1 trillion Public Investment Fund — agreed to buy Moonton from ByteDance Ltd., valuing the game maker at about $6 billion. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has also been active this month, while the QIA and a Bahraini aluminum producer both announced large transactions in the first week of the war.

Just days ago, the UAE’s ambassador to the US said the Gulf nation’s $1.4 trillion investment and economic framework with America remained on track. The top official at Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund has also confirmed it remains committed to investments around the world despite growing concerns over the mounting economic costs of the war.

For 2PointZero, which was created from a restructuring of Abu Dhabi’s corporate landscape last year, the twin deals are among the firm’s most significant since it was created last year. The firm was formed after International Holding Co. PJSC, the emirate’s largest listed firm and chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon, combined Multiply Group PJSC, 2PointZero and Ghitha Holding PJSC.

The firm has about $33 billion of assets and is overseen by Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan as chairman, while Samia Bouazza is its chief executive officer.

It’s among a constellation of sovereign and private investment firms in Abu Dhabi that together control more than $2 trillion and have each been prolific dealmakers. Many of them are overseen by Sheikh Tahnoon, one of Abu Dhabi’s two deputy rulers and a brother to the country’s president.

Traverse Midstream Partners is a portfolio company of The Energy & Minerals Group and owns minority stakes in US natural gas infrastructure assets, including the Rover Pipeline and Ohio River System. The assets help move gas from the Utica and Marcellus shale regions to demand centers in the Midwest, the Gulf Coast and eastern Canada.