Mubadala Investment Company, the Abu Dhabi strategic investment firm, agreed to sell a significant minority interest in its fully owned Spanish oil and gas firm Compania Espanola de Petroleos (Cepsa) to US-based Carlyle Group.
Mubadala will remain the majority shareholder of Cepsa under the deal, while Carlyle Group will acquire between 30 and 40 per cent, the UAE company said on Monday.
The deal puts the entire enterprise value of Cepsa at $12 billion (Dh44bn), according to Mubadala, which did not disclose the exact size of the transaction.
"We are extremely satisfied with the completion of the process and achieved a very fair valuation [for our stake]," Musabbeh Al Kaabi, chief executive of petroleum and petrochemicals at Mubadala, told The National.
“Carlyle is an established, respected and experienced investor with significant assets under management in the global energy sector,” he added. “We look forward to working in partnership with [them and Cepsa] to further grow the business.”
Equity for the investment will come from some of the US private equity firm’s funds - Carlyle International Energy Partners I & II, Carlyle Partners VII, Carlyle Europe Partners V - as well as co-investors.
“Cepsa … offers strong potential and future opportunities in the global energy sector,” added Marcel Van Poecke, head of Carlyle International Energy Partners.
Cepsa is Europe’s biggest privately-owned oil and gas company, with an extensive network of retail service stations across the Iberian Peninsula and two refineries in Spain. It is also a global leader in the production of linear alkyl benzene (LAB), a key component in the manufacture of biodegradable detergents, and is the second-largest producer of phenol and acetone.
The 90-year-old company has worked in partnership with Abu Dhabi for many years. It was originally an investment of Ipic, which became part of Mubadala – the government’s state investment vehicle – in a merger in 2017. Mubadala has built its stake in Cepsa since and bought shares in it held by France’s Total in 2011.
Tuesday’s transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and expected to close by the end of 2019. It marks the conclusion of a dual process, led by Mubadala, to explore options for a public offering or private placement, to bring in new partners as part of its portfolio management strategy.
Last November, Mubadala announced its intention to float 25 per cent of Cepsa’s capital on the Spanish stock exchange, in what could have been the biggest oil company initial public offering in the past decade. The IPO was slated to take place in the fourth quarter of 2018, subject to market conditions.
Mr Al Kaabi told The National that global capital markets were "extremely poor" throughout last year and into 2019, and Mubadala had decided an IPO was not the best way to maximise value from the planned sale. "The business is performing very well and we were under no pressure to sell," he said.
The deal also demonstrates Mubadala’s and Carlyle’s “shared vision and goals for Cepsa. The priority now is to work with our new partner on value creation across the multibillion-dollar initiatives in Cepsa’s pipeline,” the chief executive added.
In particular, Cepsa has plans to spend $500 million over the next three years to develop its LAB business, of which $300m will be spent in Abu Dhabi. It has a joint venture agreement with state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company to build a 150,000-tonne LAB plant in the emirate, with a project value of between $575m and $625m, Cepsa's chief executive Pedro Miro told The National last year.
The front-end engineering and design contract was awarded at the end of last year and is expected to complete by the third quarter of 2019, Mr Al Kaabi said on Monday – after which time Cepsa and Adnoc will be in a position to finalise terms and conditions for the rest of the JV.
“I see strong momentum from both parties to accelerate the process,” Mr Al Kaabi said.
Outside the UAE, Cepsa is pressing ahead with its upstream plans in Algeria, and a significant downstream expansion strategy in Spain, among other projects, he added.
The five pillars of Islam
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Landfill in numbers
• Landfill gas is composed of 50 per cent methane
• Methane is 28 times more harmful than Co2 in terms of global warming
• 11 million total tonnes of waste are being generated annually in Abu Dhabi
• 18,000 tonnes per year of hazardous and medical waste is produced in Abu Dhabi emirate per year
• 20,000 litres of cooking oil produced in Abu Dhabi’s cafeterias and restaurants every day is thrown away
• 50 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s waste is from construction and demolition
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AIDA%20RETURNS
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Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Correspondents
By Tim Murphy
(Grove Press)
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Honeymoonish
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What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
