Abu Dhabi Inc pushes ahead with global dealmaking, signaling that it’s business as usual

If there’s been one constant since the outbreak of war, it’s the message from Abu Dhabi Inc. that dealmaking isn’t going to slow down — and that pattern stands unbroken again this morning.

Other sovereign heavyweights are also pushing hard: PIF, Mubadala, and QIA together deployed close to USD 25 bn in 1Q 2026 even as we lost March to the conflict. Sitting on some USD 5 tn in assets and with global peers largely sitting on the sidelines right now, Gulf funds are hunting for distressed assets and pressing ahead with AI, defense, and infrastructure bets placed well before the shooting started.

#1- Mubadala-Petrobras talks back on: Brazil’s state-owned energy firm, Petrobras, is back inearly-stage talks to buy Brazil’s Mataripe oil refinery back from Mubadala, with an agreement potentially on the table before year-end. Petrobras had sold the refinery for USD 1.65 bn in 2021 and was last on its way to buying it back in 2024. Mataripe is Brazil’s second-biggest refinery, and is operating under capacity despite c.14% of the country’s total refinery output.

Why now? The renewed push comes as Brazil looks to ease refining bottlenecks. Mataripe is operating at around 60% capacity, while Petrobras’ own plants are near full utilization, adding urgency as diesel prices climb.

BACKGROUND- Mubadala has been restructuring its Brazil portfolio, having recently closed its third Brazil fund of nearly USD 1 bn. Towards the end of last year, it acquired 60.3% of an infrastructure firm, and was also reported to be eyeing taking over a Brazilian fintech.

#2- ALSO IN ADVANCED TALKS- Abu Dhabi’s Adnoc, which is looking to acquire Shell’s fuel retail network in South Africa in a transaction that could be worth USD 1 bn and close as early as this quarter. The talks come as Shell is continuing to offload non-core assets globally.

For Adnoc, this is about global reach: The acquisition would give it roughly 10% of the market in Africa’s largest economy, extending its push into downstream and retail beyond the Gulf and reinforcing a broader overseas expansion drive. That strategy is backed by a USD 150 bn capex budget through 2030, alongside the rapid scaling of its investment arm XRG, which has nearly doubled to a USD 151 bn enterprise value and recently closed a EUR 14.7 bn takeover of Germany’s Covestro.

#3- Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI just got one step closer to exiting the UK’s Telegraph Media Group after the British government greenlit Berlin-based media giant Axel Springer’s GBP 575 mn acquisition of the publication. UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said in a statement yesterday that she is “not minded to intervene,” ending a three-year battle for the broadsheet. Axel Springer also owns Politico and Business Insider.

The mechanics: In practice, this will see RedBird IMI cashout by selling its conversion rights to Axel Springer, which would then swap that debt for 100% equity. The transaction is expected to close by the end of June pending minor regulatory nods in Ireland and Austria, according to the Financial Times.

ALSO WORTH KNOWING TODAY-

Egypt’s state run gas company Egas has signed a preliminary agreement with partners Chevron, Shell, and NewMed Energy to take the entirety of the natural gas produced from Cyprus’s 3.7 tcf Aphrodite field. The deal will be served by a USD 2 bn pipeline linking the field to Port Said, securing up to 700 mmcf/d to feed Egypt’s LNG export infrastructure and reinforce the country’s role as the East Med’s premier processing hub.

The World Bank is throwing USD 500 mn behind Morocco’s labor market, export-oriented pharma, and green energy. The financing is the first tranche of a three-stage program targeting 300k+ jobs — focused on women and youth in SMEs and clean energy — and supporting Rabat's ambition to raise pharma exports sevenfold by 2029.

CMA CGM adds a regional distribution arm: CMA CGM is set to acquire 100% of Lebanon’s Fattal Group — extending the French giant’s operations further into distribution and beyond transport. The agreement, subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close in 3Q 2026. Fattal Group is a regional distributor with operations in Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, the UAE, Algeria, Egypt, as well as France and Cyprus.

Ayar Third Investment — a PIF subsidiary — is doubling down on struggling US EV maker Lucid with a USD 550 mn cheque in a larger round that also pulled in USD 200 mn from Uber. The fresh capital comes as Lucid taps former Schindler chief Silvio Napoli as CEO to steady operations after a turbulent 2025 and an expected USD 1 bn operating loss in 1Q 2026.

Egypt’s Ezz Steel is reportedly weighing a USD 780 mn investment to build a 2.5 mn-ton direct reduced iron facility in Algeria — tapping low-cost Algerian gas to de-risk its export corridors and potentially skirt a US tariff wall that has effectively frozen Egyptian rebar out of North America.

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