Mubadala to invest in core areas over next 20 years, Khaldoon Al Mubarak says

The Abu Dhabi company’s subsidiary Mubadala Capital is 'currently in the process' of buying TV rights for a Brazilian football league

Khaldoon Al Mubarak, managing director and group chief executive of Mubadala Investment Company. Pawan Singh / The National

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company plans to strongly invest in its core areas in the next two decades, and is currently in talks to buy the TV rights for a football league in Brazil, according to its managing director and group chief executive.

“We are zooming into the spaces where we know we have strength,” Khaldoon Al Mubarak told the Milken Institute Middle East and Africa summit in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

“Strong infrastructure, be it ports or airports, fibre-optics, telecommunications, all of the above, is the kind of zones … that we will be heavily focusing on and investing in the next 20 years using our strengths,” Mr Al Mubarak said, adding that high-end manufacturing is another area of interest for the company.

Mubadala has invested billions of dollars in infrastructure, industry and telecoms in recent years.

Managing more than $284 billion in assets globally, Mubadala is continuing to invest in markets worldwide to boost its portfolio.

Last month, it forged an alliance with private equity firm KKR to co-invest across performing private credit opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region to address a shortage of capital and support the long-term growth plans of the businesses.

As part of the “strategic partnership”, Mubadala and KKR will invest at least $1 billion of long-term capital, providing credit solutions to companies and sponsors, both entities said at the time.

Last month Mubadala also signed a deal to acquire a minority stake in Sweden-based fibre and data company GlobalConnect as part of its expansion plans.

Mubadala's other recent investments include the acquisition of German offshore wind farm developer Skyborn Renewables in partnership with other investors, including Global Infrastructure Partners. It also struck a deal to buy US-based snack food contract manufacturer TruFood, to boost its portfolio in the consumer and food services segment.

Mubadala Capital, the asset management subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company, is “currently in the process” of buying TV rights for a football league in Brazil, Mr Al Mubarak said.

“I think there is a very clear upside story and a clear growth story, so hopefully, that will be a success,” he said on Thursday, without naming the football league it plans to buy in the South American country.

“I think that league is now going to be privatised. And with that, as we have seen all over the world, TV rights … once leagues get organised, privatised and then commercially reorganised, the upside that comes up on the TV rights is actually quite substantial,” Mr Al Mubarak said.

Mubadala has investments in Brazil in sectors including infrastructure and energy, Among others.

Last year, Mubadala bought a refinery and logistics assets from Brazil's state oil company Petrobras for $1.65 billion to expand its portfolio in the country.

“We understand the Brazilian market. We have invested in infrastructure, technology, real estate and industrial activity in Brazil, and we have done very, very well,” Mr Al Mubarak said.

The UAE is going to be a “major player” in the energy transition as the Arab world’s second-largest economy prepares to host Cop28 next year, he said.

The UAE “is an energy producer and I think we are not going to shy away from who we are. I think we're going to be proud of that,” Mr Al Mubarak said.

“But we [are] also going to be … very clearly forward-looking in terms of understanding that the energy transition is going to change … and we are going to be a major player in that transition and in that change, and we are going to play our part responsibly.”