THIS MORNING: MGX comes back for OpenAI’s latest funding round + Mubadala eyes UK wealth management firm takeover

Good morning, everyone. Companies are raising and deploying funds in equal measure in today’s issue, both at home and overseas.

Arada is making its Saudi debut with a USD 3.8 bn residential project in Riyadh as it looks to tap into an expected rise in home ownership on the back of a government push. At the same time, the developer is moving to refinance its 2027 sukuk and preparing a new issuance.

Meanwhile, Taqa has made its first trip to debt markets since delisting from the ADX, raising USD 1.75 bn across two tranches. Final orders topped USD 5.7 bn, signaling there’s appetite for Abu Dhabi utility paper under L’imad’s full ownership.

On the funding front: MGX is among the existing backers in talks to join an OpenAI round of about USD 30 bn that could value the company at more than USD 1.4 tn as the AI giant looks to reach a close ahead of Anthropic’s expected mid-November listing.

Plus: We look at how regional trade disruption is allowing RAK Ceramics to gain ground at home as exporting becomes harder.

MGX comes back for OpenAI

Abu Dhabi AI investor MGX is among the existing OpenAI backers in talks to join a fundraising round for OpenAI of about USD 30 bn that could value the ChatGPT maker at more than USD 1.4 tn, Reuters reports, citing two people it says are familiar with the matter. OpenAI wants to close the round before rival Anthropic’s expected public listing in mid-November, as both AI firms tap similar investors. SoftBank is also in talks to take part. A USD 1.4 tn mark would be c. 64% above the USD 852 bn OpenAI was valued at in March.

The competition is heating up: OpenAI is pitching USD 50 bn in annualized revenue and expects USD 70 bn by year-end. Anthropic’s annualized revenue was roughly USD 65 bn by July, and its quarterly revenue rose to USD 16.8 bn in 3Q from USD 11.6 bn in 2Q. The two also count revenue differently. OpenAI reports net of partners’ shares and has accused Anthropic of inflating revenue by booking cloud-resold contracts at gross value. Anthropic says it follows established accounting practices.

Why it matters for Abu Dhabi: If it closes, this would be the second OpenAI round MGX backs this year, after it co-led the USD 122 bn round that closed in March. It would also have money on both sides of what one capital markets lawyer called a two-horse race. It co-led Anthropic’s USD 30 bn Series G in February and came back for its USD 65 bn Series H in May at a roughly USD 965 bn valuation. Both rounds happened as the market for AI listings got harder. Some Anthropic backers are now arguing for a debut valuation closer to USD 1.5 tn rather than the USD 2 tn it wanted, after its 3Q results disappointed. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has also shed USD 1.6 tn in under two weeks, and several AI infrastructure IPOs have been pulled or paused.

AIX wants investors to wait until 2031

Dubai’s AIX Investment Group is asking the clients it stopped paying to sign up for a court-led restructuring, offering three options that include a four-year plan with a 16% annual coupon and principal repaid in January 2031, the Financial Times reports, citing an announcement to investors on Monday. AIX had promised investors an update by 12 October after bringing in restructuring advisers.

The plan faces a rival process offshore: An investor represented by Harneys petitioned the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands late last month to wind up the AIX entity there that manages its bond-like products. AIX has told investors that the case could complicate its recovery plans. Meanwhile, the firm has sold its Formula 2 and Formula 3 racing team and is pledging property and a private jet as collateral to raise new funds, the salmon-colored paper says. Former employees and investors told the paper that AIX kept taking deposits for 11 months after it stopped paying coupons. AIX declined to comment, citing legal sensitivities.

REMEMBER- We first reported on investors’ claims against AIX at the DIFC Courts last month.

UAE, France ink defense pact

Defense ties with Paris are getting closer, with the UAE and France inking a strategic defense partnership agreement during an official visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to Abu Dhabi, according to Wam.

There’s already momentum there: Emirati state defense firm Edge set up its European headquarters in Paris, following a separate defense cooperation agreement inked between the UAE and France earlier this year. As part of the expansion, a facility in Bordeaux will function as the group’s engineering and manufacturing core in France. The state defense firm has also been eyeing Italy and Spain as it looks to establish its European footprint.

UK wealth draws Mubadala in

Mubadala eyes UK wealth management arm takeover: Sovereign wealth fund Mubadala is reportedly in talks to take over financial services firm Canaccord Genuity Group’s UK wealth management division as part of a wider consortium, Bloomberg reports. The takeover group would be led by New York-based private equity firm Centerbridge Partners. This comes after previous buyout talks with other PE players like Warburg Pincus and CD&R fell through.

About the target: Canaccord’s UK wealth management arm had previously been valued at GBP 1 bn. Despite being UK-based, its operations are still international, offering wealth advisory services and financial and investment planning and management to private clients offshore and in the UK.

Mubadala has already backed one of the UK’s biggest take-privates earlier this year when it committed GBP 500 mn alongside Adia’s GBP 1 bn to take over UK testing and certification group Intertek in a GBP 9.3 bn transaction.

Diesel diplomacy

The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, has pledged diesel to France. The UAE and Bahrain will each supply 100k tons — roughly 746k barrels — a month for an unspecified period, while Saudi Arabia has pledged 95k tons monthly for October and November, with the possibility of extension, Bloomberg reports, citing the French presidency. TotalEnergies will sign a supply agreement “dedicated to France” with national oil companies, CEO Patrick Pouyanne said, adding that the arrangement would ensure the country has enough diesel this winter.

IN CONTEXT- European diesel prices have more than doubled this year, trading at almost USD 200 a barrel, up from around USD 80 at the start of the year, amid the Middle East conflict and Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries. European refiners were already running near maximum capacity in late September, while Gulf diesel and gasoil exports averaged roughly a quarter of pre-war levels in August.

Abu Dhabi’s next export: Government services

Abu Dhabi takes its e-government global: Abu Dhabi wants to sell its one-stop government app to the world. It launched TAMM Global, a private company that will license the AI-powered platform, which bundles 1.2k+ services, to other countries, The National reports. No buyers have been announced yet.

Empower to restructure debt

District cooling provider Empower is planning on replacing its current credit lines by issuing new facilities worth as much as AED 5.5 bn, the company said in a disclosure (pdf). The board is expected to sign off on a final decision by Friday.

IN CONTEXT- The AED 5.5 bn ceiling matches the bank debt Empower already carries. At the end of 1H, its total bank borrowings stood at around AED 5.5 bn, according to its balance sheet. The firm’s operational expansion was a main driver of its 1H results, which saw its net income rise on the back of lower finance costs despite a downturn in revenue. It also inked contracts for 73.4k refrigeration tons during the period, meaning its total contracted capacity ended up at over 2 mn.

Data point

86 — that's how many Dubai homes priced at USD 10 mn or more changed hands in 3Q 2026, down 16.5% y-o-y from 103 transactions, Bloomberg reports, citing Knight Frank data. The pullback follows a record 500 sales in 2025 as the regional war continues to weigh on buyer confidence. Still, 13 homes fetched at least USD 25 mn each during the quarter, totaling around USD 500 mn.

The ultra-rich haven’t entirely left the building: Palm Jumeirah and Emirates Hills accounted for much of the high-end activity, even as prices softened. Knight Frank estimates Palm Jumeirah values fell 9% over the past year, with prices averaging AED 4k per sq ft — giving new buyers an easier entry into the prime locations.

Luxury is taking a smaller hit: Dubai's broader residential market saw transaction volumes drop 38% y-o-y in 3Q, according to Cavendish Maxwell — more than twice the decline in USD 10 mn-plus home sales. While the figures come from different research providers, they suggest the super-prime segment is holding up better than the wider market as buyers pull back amid the war.

PSA

WEATHER- Top temperatures will hit 38°C in Abu Dhabi and 37°C in Dubai, with overnight lows of 28°C in both emirates, according to our favorite weather app.

Happening today

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrives in Greece today to meet with the country’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, according to Wam. Talks will focus on expanding cooperation across shared priority areas. Previous talks between the countries centered on boosting ties in advanced tech, AI, renewables, and food security, as well as energy and defense.

The big story abroad

SpaceX and Tesla have set up special committees to explore a merger, Elon Musk, chief executive of both companies, said during a SpaceX earnings webcast. A deal is expected to be the largest corporate merger ever. Musk said he will not take part in the discussions because of a conflict of interest, and added that the negotiators have yet to reach an agreement.

More blockbuster moves: Blackstone and Warburg Pincus are weighing a sale of deposit network operator IntraFi in a deal that could put its worth above USD 10 bn. IntraFi runs what it calls the biggest reciprocal deposit network in the US, enabling banks to distribute client funds across multiple banks to extend federal deposit insurance to balances over USD 250k. The sale is in early stages, with Morgan Stanley and Guggenheim Securities advising IntraFi.

Netflix and chilled expectations? Netflix reported its slowest revenue jump since 2023 and forecast further slowing in 4Q, amplifying doubts about the streaming giant’s performance. Sales grew 12% y-o-y to USD 12.9 bn in 3Q, matching Wall Street expectations, while net income increased 44% to USD 3.7 bn.

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