Ipic completes acquisition of 70% of MAN Ferrostaal

The International Petroleum Investment Company (Ipic), owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi, has completed the acquisition of 70 per cent stake in Germany's auto maker MAN Ferrostaal.

Ipic has thus become the new majority owner of MAN Ferrostaal.

Ipic has acquired 70 per cent of the shares with 30 per cent retained by MAN shareholders. The price for 100 per cent of the shares will amount to about 700 million euros (Dh3.4 billion), depending on the outcome of a mutual option that MAN and Ipic have agreed on for the sale and purchase of the remaining shares. The transaction includes all business activities and subsidiaries.

MAN said in a statement that it had closed the sale of a majority stake in its Ferrostaal services unit to Ipic for €490m.

According to a statement sent to Emirates Business from the company headquarters in Germany, the corresponding purchase agreement between MAN Ferrostaal and Ipic has taken effect following approval by the international antitrust authorities of the deal.

"With this step, MAN is now concentrating on the manufacturing industries in the field of transport related engineering. This focus improves the conditions for sustainable growth in all our business areas," CEO of MAN AG Håkan Samuelsson said.

Khadem Abdulla Al Qubaisi, Managing Director of Ipic, said Ipic intends to award contracts for large industrial projects to MAN Ferrostaal and wants to realise potential for growth at home and abroad.

He said: "At the same time, we intend to open up market potential in the area of future technologies and deeper market access in the countries MAN Ferrostaal is active in."

"This is the best condition to grow. For our large industrial business, Ipic's high equity is a real asset, because our markets and our partners see this as an important element of stability," Matthias Mitscherlich, CEO of MAN Ferrostaal, said in the statement yesterday.

MAN Group, the German truck-making and engineering company, earlier this year announced establishing a joint venture with Ipic to have a regional operating unit in the UAE.

The joint venture called Ipic-MAN Ferrostaal (IMF) is being developed to invest in a diversified area from the UAE in the region.

The investment areas included regional petrochemical, power, oil and gas and renewable energies, services and industrial, such as marine and automotive industry, sectors.

The 60/40 per cent joint venture company with Ipic having 60 per cent stake, will be headquartered in Germany as the company's operational centre.

According to Dr Mitscherlich, this will be the basis for projects both in Abu Dhabi as well as in the region and North Africa.

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