Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company ADQ agreed to acquire a majority stake in fresh fruit producer and distributor Unifrutti Group, further expanding its food and agriculture portfolio.
The size and value of the deal was not disclosed. ADQ will acquire the stake from existing shareholders, it said in a statement on Thursday.
“We are developing our food and agriculture portfolio with the aim of generating strong financial returns while bolstering food resilience in the UAE," Gil Adotevi, executive director of Food and Agriculture at ADQ, said.
"Our investment in Unifrutti would enable ADQ to develop a global platform for fresh produce that complements our other portfolio companies throughout the food value chain. We believe our long-term strategic investment will help accelerate Unifrutti’s next phase of growth."
Unifrutti produces, trades and distributes more than 100 varieties of fresh produce, which includes apples, bananas, cherries, grapes and citrus fruits.
It sells approximately 560,000 tonnes of fresh fruit annually across 50 countries and operates more than 14,000 hectares of farms across Chile, the Philippines, South Africa, Italy, Spain and Argentina.
ADQ, which has a broad portfolio of investments spanning sectors such as energy, utilities, health care, mobility and logistics, is boosting its food and agriculture portfolio.
It has investments in Louis Dreyfus Company, a vertically integrated company dealing in food, feed, fibres and ingredients, as well as Abu Dhabi-based fresh produce and agri-tech company Silal, agribusiness firm Al Dahra Holding and Agthia Group.
In August, ADQ also said it plans to start a new venture in Al Ain to increase the production of fresh fruits and vegetables in the UAE. ADQ will team up with three agriculture specialists to develop and operate greenhouse units within the new AgTech Park at Al Ain Industrial City, with an annual production capacity of 39 kilo-tonnes.
Globally, it is estimated that $200 billion of investment is required annually until 2050 to meet the food supply and demand gap, ADQ said in a whitepaper.
The UAE, which has embarked on the National Food Security Strategy 2051, has been investing heavily to generate sustainable local food production to reduce imports and is adopting technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics to meet long-term market demands.
"To cultivate the future of food in the UAE, we invest in local production as well as international supply chain interconnectivity," Mr Adotevi said in the whitepaper.
"Establishing thriving and new international connections to our food supply chain is one way we can play a critical role in strengthening the UAE’s food system."
BANGLADESH SQUAD
Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim (wicketkeeper), Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan (vice captain), Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahaman, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
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The specs
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- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
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MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
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Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Letswork%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOmar%20Almheiri%2C%20Hamza%20Khan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20co-working%20spaces%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%242.1%20million%20in%20a%20seed%20round%20with%20investors%20including%20500%20Global%2C%20The%20Space%2C%20DTEC%20Ventures%20and%20other%20angel%20investors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20about%2020%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
THE%20SPECS
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Meghan%20podcast
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MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
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