Gulf investors continued global dealmaking despite the Iran conflict, with the Qatar Investment Authority backing a $10.7 billion takeover of AES and Bahrain Aluminium BSC buying Aluminium Dunkerque Industries France SAS
Gulf investors are pressing ahead with major overseas acquisitions despite the escalating conflict involving Iran, signalling that sovereign wealth funds and regional corporations remain determined to project economic strength even as geopolitical tensions rise.
On Monday, Gulf investors unveiled a series of high-value transactions abroad, including a multibillion-dollar takeover backed by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund and a landmark European acquisition by Bahrain’s largest aluminium producer.
The most prominent deal involves a consortium that includes the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), which agreed to buy US utility AES Corp. in a transaction valued at about $10.7 billion. The deal ranks among the largest US utility buyouts in recent years and underscores the Gulf’s continued appetite for strategic global assets.
The consortium was assembled by BlackRock’s infrastructure arm, Global Infrastructure Partners, which brought QIA into the investor group more than a year ago, according to a report by Bloomberg News.
The report said the fund’s commitment to the deal remained intact even after Iran launched missiles toward Doha over the weekend. A spokesperson for QIA declined to comment.
Notably, the takeover was announced just minutes after Doha said it would temporarily halt production of liquefied natural gas at the world’s largest LNG export facility following an Iranian drone strike. Qatar’s vast natural-gas wealth has helped make it one of the world’s richest countries and provides QIA with substantial financial firepower to pursue large international deals.
Bahrain’s biggest overseas corporate takeover
Meanwhile, Bahrain’s aluminium producer Bahrain Aluminium BSC (Alba) agreed to acquire Aluminium Dunkerque Industries France SAS in a deal valued at more than €1 billion (about $1.2 billion).
The transaction marks the largest overseas takeover ever undertaken by a corporate buyer from Bahrain and gives Alba control of the European Union’s largest aluminium smelter.
Analysts say such acquisitions reflect Gulf states’ long-term strategy of diversifying their investments globally while also reinforcing supply chains in key industrial sectors.
Regional dealmaking continues despite conflict
The deals are part of a broader wave of overseas acquisitions by Gulf investors that has surpassed $1 trillion over the past decade, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Fresh signs of dealmaking have also emerged from other Gulf countries affected by Iran-related tensions.
Saudi Arabia, for instance, halted operations at its largest oil refinery on the Persian Gulf coast earlier this week after a drone strike in the area. Yet investment activity has continued.
Saudi industrial investment firm Tahweel Holding agreed over the weekend to acquire downstream plastics operations from Tasnee, a major Saudi petrochemical group.
Similarly, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise last week announced plans to acquire Macquarie AirFinance in a $7 billion deal including debt, strengthening its position in the aircraft-financing market.
Sovereign wealth funds remain key global investors
Gulf sovereign wealth funds have played a prominent role in some of the world’s largest corporate deals in recent years.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, for instance, participated in last year’s $55 billion buyout of Electronic Arts, one of the biggest private-equity transactions globally.
With inputs from agencies.
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