Mubadala invested more than $29bn in 2022 despite global economic headwinds

Abu Dhabi investment arm received nearly $29bn in proceeds during the year by monetising assets at strong valuations as assets swelled to $276bn.

Mubadala Investment Company, Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment arm, said it invested Dh107 billion ($29.13 billion) last year across sectors and received proceeds of Dh106 billion ($29 billion) by monetising assets at strong valuations.

The investments were made in sectors including life sciences, renewable energy and digital infrastructure, in line with the company’s strategy to invest in industries shaping the future, Mubadala said on Friday.

Assets under management across the group stood at Dh1.01 trillion ($276 billion).

Growth was supported by a strong performance in real estate, infrastructure and alternative investments, including private equity and private credit, Mubadala said.

The company did not, however, disclose its total comprehensive income for 2022, but that figure stood at Dh122 billion in 2021.

“Despite global headwinds affecting financial markets and investor sentiment, we outperformed benchmarks, staying the course with our long-term strategy of investing in key markets and sectors,” said Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Mubadala’s managing director and group chief executive.

“Although the macroeconomic environment remains uncertain we are focused on investing for the long-term based on our convictions.”

He added that Mubadala sees significant investment potential in Asia in sectors including technology, digital infrastructure and energy transition.

The company “will continue its active monetisation programme to recycle capital into high-potential sectors and geographies”, Mr Al Mubarak said.

Mubadala, which invests on behalf of the Abu Dhabi government, is at the heart of the emirate’s efforts to diversify its revenue base and generate income from sources other than oil.

The sovereign fund’s investment portfolio spans six continents. It has interests in multiple sectors and asset classes, including aerospace, information and communications technology, semiconductors, metals and mining, renewable energy, oil and gas and petrochemicals.

“We continue to focus on our capital deployments in line with our strategy, supported by prudent management of our finances, underlining the strength of our business and investment approach,” said group chief financial officer Carlos Obeid.

Last year, Mubadala backed two of the 10 biggest deals in health care, investing alongside EQT in Envirotainer, a provider of cold chain solutions for the pharmaceuticals industry and, together with Warburg Pincus, in the $2.6 billion purchase of Informa Pharma Intelligence — a data and software company for clinical trials and drug development.

In renewable energy, Mubadala said it invested $525 million together with BlackRock Real Assets in Tata Power Renewables, one of the largest renewable energy companies in India, supporting the growth of Mubadala’s clean energy portfolio.

Along with co-investors including Global Infrastructure Partners Mubadala also acquired a 100 per cent interest in Skyborn Renewables, the world’s largest private offshore wind developer.

The investment included a stake in GIP’s 50 per cent interest in Bluepoint Wind, a 1.6 gigawatt project off the coast of New Jersey and New York.

Mubadala last year also invested in sectors providing stable financial returns, such as real estate and hard infrastructure, according to Mr Al Mubarak.

“We increased our exposure to other alternative investments, including private equity and private credit, to help weather the disruption to traditional asset classes,” he said.

This included starting to deploy capital into European real estate credit via a new joint venture with Ares, an alternative investment company.

A $2.1 billion private equity partnership transaction was also carried out by Mubadala’s wholly owned asset management subsidiary, Mubadala Capital, with France’s Ardian.

There was also a partnership with KKR to jointly invest across performing private credit opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region.

During the year, Mubadala invested heavily in digital infrastructure, with $350 million investment into Princeton Digital Group, a pan-Asia data centre company focused on expanding world-class data centre services to meet increasing demand across Asia. Mubadala also invested £800 million ($997.23 million) in CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full-fibre platform.

Earlier this month, Mubadala said it was investing $500 million in US-based broadband and telecoms services company Brightspeed, alongside investment funds managed by affiliates of New York-listed Apollo Global Management.

Meanwhile, Mubadala’s proceeds in 2022 included the sale of a 24.9 per cent stake in Borealis, the Austrian market leader in base chemicals and fertilisers.

The group and global commodity trader Trafigura completed the sale of Minas de Aguas Tenidas (Matsa) for $1.87 billion.

Mubadala also sold its remaining shares in Glencore, it said.