Silver Lake pays $800m for stake in Abu Dhabi AI group G42

Silver Lake has paid about $800m for a stake in G42, an artificial intelligence and cloud computing group with links to Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, in a move that strengthens the US private equity firm’s ties with the wealthy emirate.

The investment by the Silicon Valley-based firm would “turbocharge” the growth of G42 in the United Arab Emirates and abroad, the groups said in a statement on Wednesday.

G42, a private company, is chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the national security adviser and brother of the UAE’s de facto ruler. Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chief executive of Mubadala, an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, is another board member. Mubarak joined the board last year when Mubadala took a stake in G42.

“G42 has quickly become a globally respected technology leader, poised to expand its technology portfolio and extend its leadership in AI and digital transformation,” said Egon Durban, Silver Lake’s co-chief executive, who will join the board of G42.

G42 has played a central role in the UAE’s response to coronavirus, partnering with Chinese companies to boost testing capacity and vaccine development. It is the regional distributor for the Sinopharm vaccine, which has been the most widely used jab in the UAE’s successful vaccination drive. About 93 doses have been administered per 100 people.

Last month, G42 said it had started manufacturing the vaccine in the UAE and would expand production through the opening of a new facility later this year, eventually reaching an annual capacity of 200m doses.

It was also the first UAE company to open an office in Israel following the sheikhdom’s normalisation of relations with the Jewish state last year.

Silver Lake’s investment is the latest example of its deepening relationship with some of the most powerful figures and institutions in Abu Dhabi. Mubadala agreed last year to take a stake in the US group and said it was putting $2bn into a new longer-term investing strategy led by the firm.

That transaction built on ties formed by Mubarak and Durban. In 2019, Silver Lake acquired a 10 per cent stake in the parent company behind Manchester City, the English Premier League football club, in a $500m deal that placed a record valuation on the club. City Football Group is controlled by Abu Dhabi and Mubarak is its chair.