Global investment manager BlackRock has led a consortium of investors to invest in the private equity business of Mubadala Capital, the asset management subsidiary of Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment Company.
The investment will be made into a portfolio of assets currently managed by Mubadala Capital, in addition to a $400 million commitment into Mubadala Capital’s third private equity fund, according to a statement. The third fund recently exceeded its fundraising target and held its final close at $1.6 billion, Mubadala added.
Several media reports pegged the total investment by the BlackRock consortium at $1.2 billion.
“BlackRock’s institutional approach to underwriting and partnership-orientation has helped create what we expect to be a landmark transaction, especially in a highly uncertain market environment,” said Adib Martin Mattar, head of private equity at Mubadala Capital.
Mubadala Capital manages $9 billion of assets in third-party managed funds across its private equity, public equities, venture capital, and Brazil businesses, according to Mubadala’s website. The asset management arm is the first sovereign wealth fund to manage third-party capital.
It has made investments of over $25 billion. The company typically invests in the range of $50-250 million in control and active minority positions.
Mubadala Investment Company currently manages $243 billion of assets. In 2020, the sovereign fund posted a total comprehensive income of AED72 billion ($19.6 billion), compared to AED53 billion in 2019.
The performance is attributable to Mubadala’s strategy to increase investments in sectors with growth tailwinds through direct investments and partnerships with fund managers, it said in May.
Last year, Mubadala invested AED3 billion in India’s Reliance Retail, and another AED4.3 billion in Reliance’s telecom business Jio.
In April 2021, Mubadala along with alternative manager KKR backed Australian logistics property group LOGOS in a venture to acquire and develop logistics facilities across Australia, among other deals.
