Abu Dhabi fund Mubadala sells 7.6 percent ADIB stake to National Holding

Mubadala Investment Company, Abu Dhabi’s second biggest sovereign wealth fund, has sold its 7.6 percent stake in Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank to a unit of investment firm National Holding, they said in a joint statement on Friday.

Emirates International Investment Company (EIIC), the strategic investment arm of Abu Dhabi-based National Holding, was already ADIB’s top shareholder and the acquisition of Mubadala’s stake takes its holding to 47 percent of ADIB.

The transaction signaled “strong confidence in the prospects for long-term growth of the UAE’s second largest Islamic lender by assets,” the statement said.

It was “in line with Mubadala’s strategy to create long-term value by optimizing a global portfolio of investments across a variety of sectors,” the statement said, adding the state investor remained committed to the UAE’s banking sector.

ADIB’s first-quarter net profit jumped by more than half from a year earlier to 1.1 billion dirhams ($300 million). Its stock is up more than 16 percent so far this year, according to Refinitiv data.

Its market capitalization is about $10.3 billion, Refinitiv data showed. At ADIB’s current share price, Mubadala’s 7.6 percent stake was worth more than $780 million, according to Reuters calculations.

Mubadala and EIIC did not disclose a value for the transaction in the statement.