Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Mubadala back one of UK’s biggest take-privates

Staying active: The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) and Mubadala are co-investing in a major take-private transaction — and continuing to make individual investments and exits — as Abu Dhabi's sovereign funds keep up a busy pace of overseas deployment.

The two sovereign wealth funds committed a combined GBP 1.5 bn (c. USD 2 bn) to back Swedish investment firm EQT’s GBP 9.3 bn takeover of UK testing and certification group Intertek, according to a filing (pdf) as well as figures reported by Bloomberg.

Who’s paying what: Adia is putting in GBP 1 bn, getting an 18% stake in the firm, while Mubadala is contributing GBP 500 mn, with an 8% stake. The transaction ranks among this year’s largest UK take-privates and will remove another major company from the London Stock Exchange.

What does Intertek do? The group provides testing, inspection, and certification services across consumer goods, healthcare, energy, and infrastructure, helping companies meet safety, quality, and regulatory standards worldwide.

Why it matters: The transaction puts Abu Dhabi’s sovereign funds in the financing stack of another mega-buyout as private equity firms increasingly turn to large, long-term institutional investors to help fund acquisitions of this size.

ADVISORS- Morgan Stanley, Barclays, and Deutsche Bank advised EQT financially; JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and PJT Partners advised Intertek. FGS Global handled communications for EQT, with DGA advising Intertek on comms. On the legal side, Freshfields acted for EQT and Slaughter and May for Intertek. Linklaters advised Luxinva (Adia's investment vehicle), while Clifford Chance acted for Mubadala. Simpson Thacher and Sweden's Vinge advised the buyer consortium on regulatory matters.

That’s not all

Adia has been around the block: Adia is also investing alongside CVC and Groupe Bruxelles Lambert in their EUR 10.7 bn bid to take Italian drugmaker Recordati private, Reuters reported late May. The EUR 51.29-per-share offer is aimed at giving the owners more room to pursue further transactions across Recordati’s businesses.

It has also added another Indian name to its portfolio, joining investors buying a 7.3% stake in drugmaker Corona Remedies for INR 7.77 bn — around USD 82.4 mn — through a block transaction on India’s National Stock Exchange, Zawya reports. The sovereign wealth fund bought 39.1k shares at INR 1.7k apiece, alongside UK-based investment firm Aberdeen Group and several Indian funds. Sepia Investments, Anchor Partners, and Sage Investment Trust sold a combined 4.58 mn shares.

MEANWHILE- Mubadala is exiting Turkish tech firm Getir’s delivery arm after Turkey cleared Uber’s takeover of Mubadala’s controlling stake in the unit, Reuters reports. The transaction also comes with a USD 500 mn investment commitment from the US ride-hailing and delivery giant.

BACKGROUND- The move is the latest in a series of exits for the sovereign wealth fund from the Turkish delivery firm amid a boardroom battle with its founders. It sold Getir’s food delivery arm to Uber for USD 335 mn, with the latter also set to up its stake in the grocery, retail, and water delivery arms. Mubadala has also offloaded Getir’s car rental subsidiary and was in talks to sell its remaining stake in Getir’s finance unit.

Zooming out

Gulf entities announced around USD 47 bn of acquisitions as of April since the regional war began, more than 120% above the same period last year, even as global M&A values fell 8%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg — a sign that regional instability has done little to slow the Gulf’s overseas deployment push. Abu Dhabi funds have continued to back large transactions across healthcare, infrastructure, technology, and alternative assets.

Some of the big ones to name:

• Emirates NBD bought 60% of RBL Bank in the largest foreign investment in India’s banking sector;
• IHC acquired a stake in Richard Caring’s hospitality portfolio;
• EIIC took a minority stake in Joe & The Juice at a USD 1.8 bn valuation;
• AD Ports agreed to acquire Germany’s MBS Logistics core business for EUR 70 mn ;
• BlueFive Capital acquired stakes across several GCC ins. and mobility businesses ;
• Masdar bought 49.99% of a EUR 849 mn renewables portfolio from Repsol;
• Plynth Energy invested more than USD 100 mn in US fusion startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems.