Mubadala to co-invest up to €1bn in France

Mubadala Investment Company, Abu Dhabi’s strategic firm with US$127 billion in assets, plans up to €1bn (Dh4.27bn) worth of investments in private and direct investments in the French economy.

Mubadala will do this in partnership with two French state-owned entities. The firm will develop an investment platform in collaboration with CDC International Capital, the investment arm of French state-owned lender Caisse des Dépôts Group, and Bpifrance, France's state investment bank co-owned with CDC group.

As part of the platform, Mubadala will expand the capacity of a co-investment partnership, known as FEF, launched in 2014 with CDC International Capital, which targets stakes in private companies and asset classes including real estate, primarily in France.

CDC International Capital specialises in direct investments alongside sovereign wealth funds.

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The FEF platform, which has already committed €300 million to long-term investments in health care, education and real estate, will increase its remit up to €500m under the new agreement.

The second part of the agreement involves Mubadala and Bpifrance co-investing up to €500m in technology and innovation start-ups and companies via direct investments and venture capital funds.

The programme will focus on information and communication technologies, biotech, green-tech and other fast-rising technology sectors.

“We see France as a significant growth market, in both established and new enterprises,” said Waleed Al Muhairi, chief executive of Mubadala’s Alternative Investments and Infrastructure Platform and the company’s deputy group chief executive.

“We want to build on our successful partnership by expanding our investments in areas we believe hold long-term commercial potential for both France and the United Arab Emirates.”

The French economy, Europe’s third biggest, is attractive due to its positive economic outlook, the roll-out of large-scale infrastructure and property projects and technology development that provide ample profitable long-term investments, Mubadala said.

“We are expanding our partnership at an exciting time for France as the economy is gaining momentum and new investment opportunities are arising, in particular in the French tech but also with some large-scale real estate and infrastructure projects,” said Laurent Vigier, chief executive of CDC International Capital.

“We are confident that this programme will generate superior returns and economic impact benefiting both France and Abu Dhabi.”

Mubadala has been expanding its investment footprint
as it seeks to contribute to
Abu Dhabi's efforts to create new revenue streams by diversifying the economy away from oil.

The investor said last month it had set up a venture capital arm that will oversee its US$15bn commitment to Japan’s Softbank Vision Fund and two other funds.

Mubadala agreed this year to co-invest in Softbank’s $100bn technology fund, alongside the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, Apple, Foxconn and Qualcomm, among others.

Mubadala and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), a Russian government-backed strategic fund, set up a $2bn fund four years ago to make long-term investments across a range of industries in Russia, alongside other unnamed investment funds.