Abu Dhabi: Saudi Arabia’s top sovereign wealth fund is buying a stake in UAE utility company Utico in a multi-million dollar deal, the chief executive of the UAE firm told Reuters on Wednesday. Public Investment Fund (PIF) has entered into a binding agreement with private utility provider Utico Middle East to buy a “significant minority stake”, Richard Menezes said. He declined to give the deal value, saying details will be published soon.
PIF has been looking at investments in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere across a range of sectors in recent months. It hired HSBC to advise it on a potential purchase of a stake in Riyadh-based ACWA Power, a developer and operator of power and water plants, sources close to the matter told Reuters in November.
