Real estate developer Aldar Properties is investing AED 407 mn (USD 111 mn) in logistics and storage assets in Europe through global investment firm Carlyle, according to an ADX disclosure (pdf).

Where the funds are going: While the developer did not provide a breakdown for the investments, portions of the investments are going towards:

  • The EUR 540 mn Carlyle Europe Realty (CER) fund, which targets real estate acquisitions in Europe;
  • A majority stake in Carlyle’s co-investment platform, which manages a portfolio of 14 warehouses in the UK with 900k sqft of leasable area;
  • Aportfolio of self-storage facilities and development sites in Western Europe, in which it has invested alongside Carlyle and other investors.

Aldar has been boosting its logistics + European portfolio:Aldar invested USD 1 bn in European commercial real estate private credit in December as part of a partnership with Abu Dhabi wealth fund Mubadala and Ares Management, which also saw it pledge USD 100 mn in investments into Ares and Mubadala’s European private real estate credit strategy. The developer also acquired UK developer London Square for AED 1.07 bn in the same month. Aldar also recently earmarked AED 1 bn to expand its logistics portfolio in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

All part of a diversification strategy: “Asset and geographic diversification are core tenets of our growth strategy, and logistics is becoming an important asset class for Aldar,” Aldar CEO Talal Al Dhiyebi said previously.

About Carlyle: The global investor manages a USD 426 bn asset portfolio, spanning across private equity, credit, and investments, with 585 investment vehicles under its belt, according to its website.

!SubHed_! IN OTHER INVESTMENT NEWS-

Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners to invest in Ardian Secondaries Fund IX: Abu DhabiCatalyst Partners (ADCP), a JV between Mubadala Capital and investment firm Alpha Wave Global, signed a partnership agreement with France-based asset manager Ardian to invest in its secondaries platform, Secondaries Fund IX, Wam reports. Under the partnership, Ardian, which launched its Abu Dhabi office last year, will expand its presence in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to promote the market’s growth as a global financial hub.

ADCP has a lot of investments in the pipeline:ADCP aims to finalize between four to eight new transactions and is currently engaged in discussions with “several big international names,” Mubadala Capital Solutions (MCS) co-head Fatima Al Noaimi told Bloomberg.

ADCP wants more than just returns on their investments — they want firms to physically relocate to the ADGM. “What we don’t want is a large asset manager to come here, they put two sales guys so they can do fundraising, and then that’s it,” MCS co-head Maxime Franzetti said. With capital currently dried up in other parts of the world, Franzetti noted that the ADCP no longer needs to look out for new clients, and those who wish to be close to Mubadala should be physically present in Abu Dhabi.

Background: With a USD 1.7 bn capital base, part of ADCP’s goals is to attract businesses to the ADGM. So far, the JV has invested in over 29 companies and is helping to create 400 new jobs in the ADGM.

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