Gulf issuers raise and sovereign funds deploy bns

The Gulf’s capital-markets machine is running flat out this morning — and, for once, from both sides of the trade. Regional issuers are raising (a first-ever AT1 out of Ajman, dual-tranche sukuk from SRC), sovereign and wealth funds are deploying (Adia into India’s biggest asset manager, Mubadala opening a USD 25 bn credit book to outsiders), and the money is showing up oversubscribed. Even Bahrain — the GCC’s most fiscally stretched sovereign — just cleared an issuance.

Bahrain raised USD 1 bn with orders topping USD 3.2 bn, tightening the 10-year yield to 7.125% from 7.5% guidance — an early sign that appetite for regional risk is thawing. It’s a bellwether worth watching: Bahrain is the GCC's most fiscally stretched sovereign and needed a UAE backstop (a c. USD 5.5 bn currency swap) to steady its bonds in April, so a clean, oversubscribed print reopens the door for bigger issuers.

Ajman Bank is joining the Gulf’s AT1 party. The Dubai-listed BBB+ lender has mandated nine banks — our friends at Mashreq, ASB Capital, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, FAB, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered, and Warba Bank — to arrange a USD-denominated perpetual non-call 5.5-year AT1 capital sukuk, its first-ever capital securities transaction. Investor calls kicked off yesterday ahead of a potential pricing.

Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC) is back in the market. The mortgage refinancer plans a Reg S senior unsecured USD-denominated sukuk in 5.5-year and 10-year tranches, issued under SRC Sukuk Limited's Trust Certificate Issuance Program, Zawya reports. Fixed-income investor meetings began on Monday.

Oman India Fertiliser Company (Omifco) started trading on the Muscat Stock Exchange today under the ticker OMIF, after a privatization that offloaded 1.67 bn existing shares to domestic retail and international institutional investors. Led by OQ and Indian state backers, the listing takes a cross-border industrial JV public — another step in Muscat’s push to deepen exchange liquidity and prove it can execute institutional-grade privatizations.

T2S (Techniques Science Santé), a Moroccan medtech group, set terms for a MAD 1.1 bn (c. USD 118 mn) IPO on the Casablanca Stock Exchange — the bourse’s first listing of the year, according to a statement (pdf). Shares are priced at MAD 223, subscription runs 13-17 July, and trading begins 27 July under the ticker T2S. The offering includes MAD 350 mn in new shares and MAD 750 mn in secondary sales, with UK-based Trone Investment Holdings selling down its stake from 62% to 42%.

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) is set to anchor the USD 1.2 bn IPO of India’s largest asset manager, SBI Funds Management, alongside Singapore’s GIC, Reuters reports, citing unnamed sources. SBI Funds — a joint venture between State Bank of India and France’s Amundi — manages INR 12.5 tn (USD 131.1 bn) and is targeting a valuation of around USD 12.3 bn. The two shareholders plan to sell a combined 10% stake, with the offering expected to open next week.

Demand already outstrips supply: Institutional commitments have come in at nearly 5x the allocation on offer, led by domestic investors alongside Gulf and Singaporean sovereign funds. Even so, SBI Funds is reserving half the offering for retail.

An investment firm owned by members of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family is making its first major move into the global LNG sector: The Private Department of Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalid Al Nahyan will invest USD 1.13 bn in MidOcean Energy, the LNG company formed and managed by US energy-focused private equity firm EIG, according to a press release.

The two sides are also setting up a strategic partnership covering capital aggregation, agreement origination, and institutional investment across the UAE and select regional markets, with energy and adjacent infrastructure as a stated area to explore next.

Mubadala is turning one of its biggest in-house investment engines into a product it can sell. The Abu Dhabi wealth fund is transferring management of a USD 25 bn credit portfolio — about 6% of its USD 385 bn balance sheet — to Mubadala Capital under a long-term agreement, while keeping ownership of the assets, Bloomberg reports. Mubadala is also committing another USD 4.65 bn to expand the platform as Mubadala Capital prepares to raise from pension funds, insurers, and wealthy clients.

Mubadala is using its balance sheet as a launchpad for fee-generating asset management. The credit business had previously invested only Mubadala's own capital — it can now raise traditional funds, evergreen vehicles, and other products for outside money. The bet: Bank retreats from direct lending will open up more room to lend, particularly in Europe and Asia.

Khaldoon Al Mubarak takes over as chairman of Mubadala Capital, which has grown from an in-house PE unit into a broader alternatives manager spanning credit, insurance, real estate, and wealth management. It now manages, advises, and administers more than USD 600 bn, with over 200 staff across Abu Dhabi, New York, London, San Francisco, and Rio de Janeiro.

DAE goes shopping for capital, again. Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) and Neuberger Specialty Finance are launching Mustang Aerospace — a new aircraft-leasing co-investment platform targeting around USD 6 bn of investments across multiple vehicles over the medium term, according to a press release. The two will use it to acquire a diversified fleet for airline customers worldwide. Goldman Sachs, Mizuho, BNP Paribas, MUFG, Société Générale, and Truist have all agreed to provide committed warehouse financing for the vehicle.

This is DAE’s second co-investment platform in three months, after launching Equator with Blackstone Credit & Insurance in April — which targets around USD 1.6 bn in annual aircraft investments. The through-line: DAE is scaling on institutional money rather than its own balance sheet.

Adnoc Distribution is buying its way into South Africa. The retailer signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of Shell Downstream South Africa (SDSA) in a transaction valued at around USD 1 bn before debt and working-capital adjustments, according to a press release (pdf). The acquisition covers 580 fuel stations plus wholesale fuels, aviation, and lubricants businesses, and is expected to close in 2027.

The details: Adnoc plans to sell a 28% stake in SDSA to a local empowerment partner and an employee stock ownership plan after closing, to comply with South Africa's Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment rules. It will keep the Shell brand for retail and lubricants under a long-term licensing agreement.

Why South Africa? It’s one of the few fuel-retail markets with regulated pricing designed to protect retailers’ margins from inflation, FX volatility, and swings in global oil prices — a framework that offers more earnings visibility than deregulated markets, according to an investor presentation (pdf).

A new Saudi private equity fund built to pull foreign money into the kingdom is targeting a first close in 3Q 2026, an Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) spokesperson tells EnterpriseAM. Institutional investors are running due diligence on the fund and its agreement pipeline now, the spokesperson said. A&M, which helped structure the vehicle, has already put its own capital in and may increase its commitment.

The pitch is co-investment, not just capital. The fund is targeting at least USD 500 mn and will take controlling stakes in defensive, asset-backed sectors — cold storage, warehousing, data centers, and healthcare — AGBI first reported. It will put up roughly half the equity and package “pre-wrapped” agreements so foreign investors can come in alongside a blue-chip Saudi partner rather than source and structure deals themselves. A&M MENA regional leader Colie Spink told AGBI he expects the fund to drive equity deployment worth “a multiple” of its own size.

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