Gate Capital News Letter | Issue 735

The Dubai-based Property Finder has raised $170 million from Abu Dhabi sovereign investor Mubadala and another UAE-based wealth fund that has not been named.

Mubadala and the second wealth fund have each committed $75 million in investment in the online property portal, with MENA venture capital firm BECO Capital rounding off the balance.

Prosperity7 Ventures, a venture capital arm of state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco, has invested in Upscale AI.

The growth fund is among the investors that participated in the AI startup’s $200 million Series A financing led by Tiger Global, Premji Invest and Xora Innovation. The new investment brings the total funding for the California-based firm to more than $300 million.

Saudi Ethylene and Polyethylene Company (SEPC), a joint-venture partly owned by Saudi-listed National Industrialisation Company (Tasnee), has secured a loan worth SAR 1.7 billion ($453.3 million) from Bank Albilad.

The Murabaha financing will be used to fund the JV firm’s ethylene cracker expansion project, Tasnee confirmed on Monday.

SEPC is a joint venture between Tasnee Sahara Olefins Company (TSOC), of which Tasnee owns 60 %, and LyondellBasel

Mubadala Capital, the alternative asset management arm of Abu Dhabi sovereign investor Mubadala Investment Company, is seeking co investment opportunities in private markets through a new $554 million fund.

The Mubadala Capital Co Investment Fund (MCCF I) was upsized from its original $500 million hard cap to meet strong investor demand, the sovereign investor said.

Saudi-headquartered Glamera Holding has signed a deal to acquire Kuwait’s Bookr Group as part of a strategy to consolidate the lifestyle technology and beauty market in the region.

Backed by Bahrain’s investment arm, Hope Ventures, Glamera provides business-to-business software to help wellness firms – including medical and beauty clinics, fitness centres, spas and beauty salons – manage payments, bookings, marketing and staff.

The Arab Energy Fund and The State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) announced that they have agreed to partner with CVC DIF to invest in a co-investment vehicle that invests alongside DIF VII, which recently acquired a 50 percent stake in PAL Cooling Holding (“PAL”), a principal district cooling operator in UAE.

The investment from The Arab Energy Fund and SOFAZ reflects a shared commitment to advancing energy-efficient infrastructure solutions across the region.

Bahrain Bourse (BHB), a licenced exchange by the Central Bank of Bahrain, has announced that it has joined the Bahrain Association of Banks (BAB), reinforcing collaboration with the financial markets and supporting the continued development of Bahrain’s capital markets through structured dialogue and stakeholder engagement.

Khansaheb Group, one of the region’s most influential construction and engineering powerhouses, has recently acquired Anabeeb, a leading infrastructure company specialising in end-to-end PVC and GRP industrial pipe manufacturing, from Emsteel Building Materials.

Vennre, a wealth creation platform enabling HENRYs (High Earners, Not Rich Yet) to access private market opportunities, today announced the successful close of its Pre-Series A funding round.

Juthor, a Saudi-based e-commerce technology startup, has raised $500,000 (SAR 1.875 million) in a pre-seed funding round led by Flat6Labs, alongside a group of angel investors.

Dubai-based startup Mantas has launched with $1.77 million in seed funding to introduce a new category of protection for digital businesses: parametric cloud outage insurance.

MENA-focused education technology platform Abwaab has acquired Apex Education, a startup specialising in elite college admissions, as part of its strategy to support students across the full education journey, from early learning to global university placement.

XRG, a lower-carbon energy and chemicals investment company and a unit of Adnoc Distribution, has announced plans to increase its stake in Rio Grande LNG, deepening its exposure to one of the world’s largest LNG export facilities, located in the Port of Brownsville, Texas.

Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala) today announced that it has sold its minority stake in Arcadia Consumer Healthcare (Arcadia), a leading consumer health and wellness platform headquartered in the United States, in conjunction with the recently announced acquisition of Arcadia by funds managed by Bansk Group (Bansk).

Saudi Arabia has become a major global player in tourism, with the sector now contributing approximately 5% of the kingdom’s GDP and accounting for nearly 5% of total employment, said Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Minister of Tourism of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Yozo.ai, a UAE-based e-commerce AI startup, has raised $1.7 million in pre-seed funding in a round co-led by Access Bridge Ventures and Disruptech Ventures, with participation from Arzan VC, Oraseya Capital, Plus VC, Suhail Ventures, Glint Ventures, and M-Empire Angels.

Saudi-listed Saudi Arabian Refineries Company (SARCO) is set to acquire commercial land in Riyadh for SAR 33 million ($8.8 million). The company confirmed on Wednesday it had won the auction on the Mubasher Auctions (Enfead) platform to purchase the 103,140-square-metre property on Al-Kharj Road in Riyadh.

Gulf governments are stepping up infrastructure deals with foreign investors, with Kuwait set to launch an oil pipeline network stake sale as soon as February in a deal that could raise up to $7bn, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.