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Bloomberg
The United Arab Emirates’ sovereign wealth fund boosted its stake in Dubai-based telecom operator du, snapping up a stake valued at about $630 million (AED2.3 billion).
The Emirates Investment Authority bought 463.3 million shares in the phone company from Mamoura Diversified Global Holding and General Investments in a special deal, according to a statement. It represented about 10.2 percent of du’s issued share capital. The statement didn’t provide a value for the deal.
“This monetisation is part of our strategy of continuously evaluating our portfolio, and realising a return on an investment at the opportune time,†said Mounir Barakat, executive director of information and communications technology at Muba- dala Investment Co. The fund continues to be a “significant†equity investor in du, he said.
Mamoura was previously known as Mubadala Development Co, wealth fund managed by Abu Dhabi’s government. The Emirates Investment Authority held 39.9 percent of du, while Mamoura owned 19.92 percent. du shares traded at AED5 in Dubai on Sunday.
The Emirates Investment Authority (EIA) is a sovereign wealth fund of the Federal Government of the United Arab Emirates. Established in 2007, the EIA has actively sought unique investment opportunities locally, regionally and internationally, focussing on investing in asset classes that will help strengthen and diversify the UAE economy. In a short span of time, the EIA has uniquely positioned itself to become an invaluable partner for significant world-class investment opportunities locally, regionally and internationally.
du provides services to more than 6.5 million mobile customers (almost 50 percent market share), 555,000 fixed line subscribers, 180,000 home services subscribers and over 70,000 businesses.