UAE funds to buy $855m stake in Israeli financial firm

Abu Dhabi funds led by ADQ are in talks to buy a stake worth about $855m in Israeli financial services firm Phoenix Group as the UAE expands into the country after normalising ties two years ago.

Private investment firms Centerbridge Partners and Gallatin Point Capital, which hold 33.44 per cent of Phoenix, are in advanced negotiations with the emirate funds led by ADQ that are expected to buy a 25 per cent to 30 per cent stake, partnering with Gallatin Point, according to a statement.

The statement didn’t provide terms of the proposed deal. Phoenix is listed on the Tel Aviv stock exchange, with a market value of $2.85bn.

Israel and the UAE have sought ways to improve defence and economic relations since agreeing to forge diplomatic ties in 2020, in what was an historic breakthrough.

Since the agreement was brokered, cross-border trade and deals between the two countries have steadily grown.

Wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. purchased of $1bn stake in Israel’s second-biggest natural gas field last year, while Abu Dhabi’s Group 42 set up a venture with Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to develop artificial intelligence and big data analysis.

A number of UAE-based companies and funds have opened offices in Israel, including AI and cloud computing company G42, and the state-run Abu Dhabi Investment Office.

ADQ has already invested in the Israeli lab-grown meat company Aleph Farms.

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