M&A-

Abu Dhabi’s Investcorp Capital acquires US-based KSS: ADX-listed private equity firm Investcorp Capital acquired US industrial services firm Kanawha Scales & Systems (KSS), according to an ADX disclosure (pdf). This move comes as the firm looks to diversify its portfolio and expand its global private market investments.

IN CONTEXT- Investcorp has made several US exits this year, including Resa Power in April and the sale of its US industrial portfolio for USD 360 mn. Elsewhere, it fully exited Indian budget fashion retailer Citykart, having helped the company grow its top line to USD 102 mn for FY 2025. On the flip side, it invested in Italian payments firm Epipoli and acquired a USD 200 mn portfolio of European and North American assets.

CONSTRUCTION-

Meraas awards AED 440 mn contract for City Walk project: Dubai Holding Real Estate’s subsidiary Meraas handed GCC Contracting an AED 440 mn contract to develop the City Walk Northline project in Dubai, according to a press release.

The details: Completion is slated for 3Q 2027 and will see Meraas develop City Walk Northline 1 and 2, which together will offer 304 units spread across three residential buildings. The project sits between Jumeirah Street and Sheikh Zayed Road and is part of the broader City Walk development. Meraas recently awarded Naresco an AED 450 mn contract for construction works on City Walk’s final phase — Central Park Plaza.

HOSPITALITY-

Kerzner partners on USD 2 bn Saudi tourism project: The hospitality arm of Investment Corporation of Dubai, Kerzner International, will develop two luxury tourism projects in Saudi Arabia after inking a USD 2 bn agreement with the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund-owned Jeddah Central Development and Saudi’s Midad Real Estate, Asharq Business reports. The projects — Atlantis Jeddah and One&Only Jeddah — will see investments of USD 2 bn and be located on the Kingdom’s Red Sea waterfront.

REMEMBER- Kerzner announced in September it is expanding its One&Only brand with new resorts in Fiji’s Nacula Island and a property in Big Sky in the US state of Montana.

AVIATION-

US-based aircraft giant GE Aerospace is expanding into Dubai South with a USD 50 mn On Wing Support facility in the Mohammed Bin Rashid Aerospace Hub, Gulf News reports. The facility will help the company scale maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) capabilities, support the production of advanced engines like the GE9X, and introduce its first MRO training space. Construction is set to begin in December, with completion slated for 1Q 2027. The investment will expand GE Aerospace’s UAE footprint to 120k sq ft.

ICYMI- The firm had previously announced a USD 10 mn investment in its MRO facilities in Dubai and Doha to prepare for the arrival of the GE9X. Earlier this year, Etihad Airways said it was investing USD 14.5 bn for 28 Boeing 787 and 777X jets built by GE Aerospace in the US.

RTA + Joby host first crew-manned aerial taxi flight: Joby Aviation marked its first crewed electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aerial taxi flight between Margham’s Dubai Jetman Helipad and Al Maktoum International Airport, in cooperation with Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA), according to Dubai Media Office. The 17-minute flight marks the first crewed eVTOL flight between two points in the UAE.

The UAE’s first eVTOL aerial taxi vertiport in Dubai is 60% complete, RTA said, with UK-based firm Skyports Infrastructure leading construction efforts. The facility is located near Dubai International Airport.

REMEMBER- Joby Aviation is on track to launch its first vertiport at Dubai International Airport by 1Q 2026, ahead of commercial rollout.

More to come: RTA has inked agreements with Emaar Properties, Atlantis The Royal, and Wasl Asset Management to develop additional vertiports for aerial taxis within their real estate projects.

AI-

Ajman Bank, Oracle team up: Ajman Bank is moving its new trade finance platform onto US-based technology company Oracle ’s cloud infrastructure (OCI), aiming to boost capacity, speed and resilience as transaction volumes rise, according to a press release.

The details: Oracle will work with the bank on further cloud and data use cases as it modernizes its trade finance stack. Both sides will explore additional applications in data management, analytics and compliance to accelerate product development and improve internal controls.

REMEMBER- This is not Ajman Bank’s first digital scaling move: Ajman Bank signed an MoU with UAE-based digital asset platform Fasset in October to jointly launch shariah-compliant virtual asset offerings in the UAE.

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