Gate Capital News Letter | Issue 753

Italian defence and aerospace company Leonardo and Abu Dhabi’s ​EDGE group ⁠have detailed plans for a joint ‌venture targeting over 4 billion euros in orders over ​five years, the companies said on Wednesday at ​a Paris event.

The ​venture announced last November, which will be 51% owned by EDGE and 49% ⁠by Leonardo, is expected to begin operations with contracts already secured worth several hundred million euros.

Abu Dhabi sovereign investor Mubadala has acquired $200 million of UK asset manager Equitix’s stake in Greenlink, a joint venture between Equitix and Baltic Cable that operates a 504MW subsea electricity interconnector linking Great Britain with Ireland.

Spanning 190kms, Greenlink has a nominal capacity equivalent to powering around 380,000 homes and has been designated as a ‘Project of Common Interest’ by the European Union as part of its regional energy security.

Investcorp, the Bahrain-based alternative investment manager, has acquired a stake in the UAE-headquartered IT distributor firm Metra for an undisclosed amount as part of its investments in the digital and artificial intelligence space.

Metra maintains a presence in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, along with operations across the wider MENA region including Egypt. In 2025, the company crossed $1 billion in sales, with a portfolio spanning AI solutions, cybersecurity, and data centres.

Gulf economies are expected to rebound strongly in 2027 after a conflict-driven downturn this year, with gross domestic product across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) forecast to grow 8.1 per cent as energy exports recover, travel demand returns and business confidence improves, according to a report published by ICAEW and Oxford Economics.

Kuwait’s UrbanLanes Developments is preparing to acquire a 1.8-square-kilometre plot of land in Ras El Hekma on Egypt’s North Coast for 7 billion Egyptian pounds ($135 million), according to a news report.

CNTXT AI, a UAE-based data and AI company, has raised $60 million in a Series A round co-led by AI71 and BlueFive Capital to accelerate product development, enter new markets, and deploy secure AI infrastructure for enterprise and government customers worldwide.

The Abu Dhabi-based HEA Energy has raised $550 million in a three-year senior secured first lien bond with a 8.75% coupon and a reoffer price of 99.33% of par. IPTs were in the range of 9.125 – 9.375% (coupon equivalent yield with a possible inclusion of up to 2 points of Original Issue Discount).

MM Mirage Bluewater II Limited (Cayman Island) is listed as the issuer, with HEA Energy TopCoLimited (Parent), each Vessel Owning SPV and each intermediate holding company, named as guarantors.

Dubai Islamic Bank is raising $750 million via a three-year senior unsecured Islamic financing. HSBC, Mizuho Bank and Standard Chartered are the mandated lead arrangers (MLAs) and bookrunners of the bullet term loan, LSEG’s LPC reported.

Sovra, the fintech platform that provides people with a global dollar account, has raised more than $2 million in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Pharsalus Capital, with participation from leading regional and global angel investors, including Karim Atiyeh (founder of Ramp), Hisham Al-Falih (founder of Lean Technologies), Hany Rashwan (founder of 21shares), Naguib S. Sawiris (chairman of Orascom Development Holding AG) and other angel investors.

Jabal Omar Development Co., one of Saudi Arabia’s largest listed companies and the developer of Macca, has signed a SAR 2 billion ($533 million) Murabaha financing agreement with Saudi National Bank to refinance existing facilities on improved terms.

Saudi Arabia’s BinDawood Holding Company has secured a Sharia-compliant Murabaha financing facility worth SAR 217.8 million ($58.1 million) from Arab National Bank and Emirates NBD Bank to support its planned acquisition of a majority stake in Vaza Food.

WAJA Co. signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) on June 10, to acquire a 5% stake in Awtad Al Fahd Co. Ltd. In a statement to Tadawul, the company said the MoU is valid for six months and may be extended by mutual agreement between the parties. The agreement currently has no financial impact.

Gulf Partners Group (GPG), a management-led Gulf private markets firm, together with Payward, the unified infrastructure platform and parent company of both NinjaTrader and digital asset platform Kraken, has announced the closing of a $100 million senior secured private credit facility for Chicago-headquartered NinjaTrader Group Holding.

NHC Innovation, a leading provider of integrated digital services and solutions for individuals and businesses in Saudi Arabia, has signed three strategic partnership agreements with leading Chinese companies Huawei, Lenovo and ByteDance at a key event in Shenzhen

Emirates NBD Bank and RBL Bank Limited today announced the successful completion of Emirates NBD’s acquisition of a majority stake in RBL Bank through a primary infusion of approximately $2.75 billion (~INR 260 billion).

The transaction underscores Emirates NBD’s long-term commitment to the Indian market and represents a landmark development in the Indian financial services sector driven by RBL Bank’s strong platform providing opportunity to leverage on India’s growth story.

Saudi Telecom Co., also known as stc, and Public Investment Fund-backed Humain have extended by six months a memorandum of understanding to establish a Saudi AI data center joint venture.

One of Saudi Arabia’s largest investment firms has saw the value of its stake in SpaceX jump to $6.8bn (SAR 25.6bn) following its sensational debut on the Nasdaq last week. Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), is owned and controlled by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.

UK financial technology company Revolut is working to expand its partnership base in the UAE, having secured key licences from authorities to bring it a step closer to launching full-scale operations in the Emirates.