News
Mubadala to Buy Out JBI
March 7, 2011
| The Abu Dhabi state investment fund (read: sovereign wealth fund) is planning to buy out 49% of John Buck International Properties, giving Mubadala full control of the JV that’s developing properties in the UAE capital. Mubadala currently owns 24.9%. No price tag or deal terms were disclosed. |
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| Sources tell us Mubadala is being very strategic about its real estate development and investment activity given the international economic climate, and it's re-organizing its strategic partnerships to better address that. JBI is acting as a development partner, performing property management and project management servicesto developments like Sowwah Square in Abu Dhabi, which is still in progress. Mubadala is interested in controlling its own destiny in such ventures, sources tell us. The move isn't out of the blue. We reported last June that JBI's leasing commitments for Sowwah Square had fallen from 95% in 2008 to just 25%. Then just a few months later in Q4, two top JBI execs—Drew Nieman and Randel Waites—returned from Abu Dhabi to take new positions at Colliers International and Cushman & Wakefield, respectively. |
