UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Dubai continues shopping spree
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While a credit crunch has begun to strangle commerce in the rest of the world, the cash-rich elite of the Persian Gulf seem not to have lost their appetite for high profile deal-making.
We published an extensive report earlier this week about how Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds continue flexing their economic muscles by grabbing up chunks in companies, grabbing properties and taking over sports teams even as the rest of the world’s financial titans have been reduced to pint-sized weaklings by a crisis in the real estate, capital and lending markets.
Today comes word that Zabeel Investments of Dubai is pushing to purchase England’s struggling Charlton soccer club.
According to news reports, the Dubai investment firm has already made a cash offer, which the team’s current owners are considering.
‘The passion of the fans at Charlton, the heritage of the club and the unique status it enjoys in the community make it an exciting proposition for us,’ a press release quoted Zabeel executive chairman Mohammed al-Hashimi as saying. ‘We feel now is the right time to make a strategic, long-term investment in Charlton.’
The offer comes just a few weeks after a group of investors in neighboring Abu Dhabi, another of the United Arab Emirates’ seven kingdoms, purchased the storied Manchester City soccer club for $400 million.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the U.A.E.’s two richest states, often compete, trying to outdo each other’s flashy deals.
The big question: With oil prices heading south, how long will the oil-rich states of the Persian Gulf be somewhat shielded from the global financial meltdown?
— Borzou Daragahi in Beirut
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