Gulf money will back Hollywood’s biggest merger

Gulf sovereign wealth is officially bankrolling Hollywood’s biggest-ever merger. The PIF, Abu Dhabi’s L’imad, and the Qatar Investment Authority have finalized commitments just shy of USD 24 bn to back Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery — and they’re far from the only sovereign names making moves this week.

PIF is providing the lion’s share at roughly USD 10 bn, with L’imad and QIA splitting the remainder, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people it says are familiar with the matter. Paramount also secured c.USD 54 bn in debt financing from Bank of America, Citigroup, and Apollo. US-based Redbird Capital Partners, which was involved in an Abu Dhabi-backed bid for the UK’s Telegraph newspaper, is also backing the deal.

Foreign investment concernspreviously raised by some US politicians appear to have been addressed: The Gulf funds will hold minority, non-voting positions, each below the 25% threshold, a limit designed to minimize scrutiny from the Committee on Foreign Investment. Investors liked what they saw — Paramount shares rose almost 11% on Tuesday as the confirmed funding reduced uncertainty around the transaction.

ADIA takes a minority stake in USD 18.3 bn Hologic buyout. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has finalized its investment in the acquisition of US women’s health firm Hologic, partnering with Blackstone, TPG, and GIC, according to a company statement. The transaction, priced at USD 79 per share, takes Hologic private in the largest US medical services sector buyout in nearly two decades — and another marker of sovereign capital’s appetite for defensive, scaled healthcare assets.

DP World is reportedly eyeing USD 13.2 bn stake in the UK’s biggest port operator. A controlling 64% stake in Associated British Ports (ABP) is up for grabs, and DP World is interested, Bloomberg reports, citing people it says are familiar with the matter. Brookfield Asset Management, KKR & Co, and BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners are also reportedly in the running for the stake, currently held by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Toronto-based Omers Administration. DP World already operates two deepwater ports and freight rail terminals at Southampton and London Gateway, the latter of which it had previously committed to investing GBP 1 bn into.

Abu Dhabi’s G42 is pushing forward with plans to spin off units and scale its flagship data center platform, with its data center arm Khazna eyeing a public debut as early as 2028, Bloomberg reports. The firm is maintaining its pre-war timeline to bring the first 200 MW of its 5 GW US-UAE AI data center campus online this year.

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Qatar National Bank (QNB)reported a bottom line of QAR 4.3 bn (USD 1.2 bn) in 1Q 2026, up 2% y-o-y. Net interest income rose 8.1%, net fees and commissions were up 10.7%, customer deposits grew 5%, and loans grew 8%.

Mubadala’s assets under management climbed 17% y-o-y to AED 1.4 tn (USD 385 bn) in 2025, according to a company post. The fund deployed AED 143 bn (USD 39 bn) globally while generating AED 138 bn (USD 38 bn) in proceeds, clocking a five-year annualized return of 10.7%.

Saudi Investment Bank (Saib)kicked off a private placement of AT1 capital sukuk under its SAR 5 bn program, running until 7 May for eligible investors. Minimum subscription is SAR 1 mn. Al Rajhi Capital and Alistithmar for Financial Securities are handling the placement.

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) and Blackstone Credit and Insurance are partnering on the launch of Equator, an aircraft leasing investment platform targeting roughly USD 1.6 bn of deployment per year.

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