Updates with background in paragraphs 2, 9, 11, 13, quotes in paragraphs 6, 7, 14
L'imad now controls assets including airline Etihad, utilities, ports
Abu Dhabi crown prince chairs merged sovereign fund
Sheikh Tahnoun, UAE president's brother, was chair of ADQ
By Federico Maccioni and Yousef Saba
DUBAI, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi's newest sovereign wealth fund L'imad Holding is taking control of peer ADQ, the government media office said on Friday, a major consolidation that creates a new investment heavyweight in the wealthy emirate under its crown prince.
L'imad, which burst onto the global scene in December as one of the Gulf backers of Paramount's $108 billion bid for Warner Bros, had its board announced this month in the first public disclosure of details about it.
It is chaired by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan - UAE President Sheikh Mohammed's eldest son. Sheikh Khaled, who now directly controls hundreds of billions of dollars in state assets including airline Etihad Airways, utilities and ports, was named as crown prince in 2023.
ADQ, which managed $263 billion before the merger, had been chaired by Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president's brother and national security adviser. He also chairs the emirate's largest sovereign fund, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, estimated by sovereign wealth tracker Global SWF to manage nearly $1.2 trillion in assets.
"With this move, Sheikh Khaled is being elevated alongside his uncles to manage a significant portfolio," Global SWF Managing Director Diego Lopez told Reuters.
Lopez said he estimates that the merged entity manages around $300 billion in assets. They include control of or stakes in power and utilities firm TAQA, McLaren Racing, agricultural commodities trader Louis Dreyfus and Abu Dhabi Ports.
Sheikh Mansour chairs Mubadala, Abu Dhabi's second-biggest wealth fund, and owns Manchester City football club.
HOME OF WEALTH FUNDS
Abu Dhabi holds the vast majority of the UAE's oil reserves and is home to sovereign funds estimated to collectively manage more than $1.8 trillion in assets. Abu Dhabi has held the UAE's presidency since the founding of the seven-emirate federation by Sheikh Mohammed's father in 1971, with the emirate's crown prince historically the heir.
Sheikh Khaled has been taking on bigger roles in recent years, including as chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and sitting on the boards of ADNOC and ADIA.
On Thursday Mohammed Hassan Alsuwaidi, the UAE's investment minister and former ADQ chief executive, stepped down from his ADQ role to lead Abu Dhabi alternative investment company Lunate.
Under a Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs (SCEFA) resolution, assets and investments of the two wealth funds will be consolidated "under the umbrella of L’IMAD," the Abu Dhabi media office said. The president chairs SCEFA, created in late 2020 to oversee Abu Dhabi's wealth funds and other entities including state oil giant ADNOC, while Sheikh Khaled is its vice chair.
L'imad's board also includes Chief Executive Jassem Al Zaabi and Mubadala Group CEO Khaldoon Al Mubarak.
Besides joining Paramount-Skydance's bid last month, L'imad emerged domestically in November when it bought a 42.54% stake in real estate company Modon from International Holding Company and a 7.5% stake from Alpha Dhabi ALPHADHABI.AD.
The consolidation of ADQ under L'imad "aims to create a sovereign investment powerhouse with a diversified asset base, supporting the Government of Abu Dhabi’s policy on sustainable investment and contributing to enhanced economic development," the Abu Dhabi media office said.
ADQ was not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Federico Maccioni and Yousef Saba; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair and Tomasz Janowski)
((federico.maccioni@thomsonreuters.com, +971 527370852))