German industrial group MAN said on March 25 it had closed the sale of a majority stake (70%) in its Ferrostaal services unit to Abu Dhabi state-owned group IPIC for 490 million euros (US$660 million).
MAN, which had initially announced the deal on October 7, said it would keep a 30% stake in Ferrostaal, which supplies industrial services for the construction of factories and also supplies machines. A company spokesman said it might sell the remaining stake to IPIC at some future date.
MAN chief executive Hakan Samuelsson was quoted as saying the group was now focused on transport manufacturing, such as heavy trucks and diesel engines.
For Abu Dhabi, the deal provides market potential in future technologies, according to IPIC managing director Abdulla al-Qubaisi, as well as greater market access to countries where Ferrostaal is active, including Germany.
Finalization of the transaction came just days after an Abu Dhabi investment fund, Aabar, and German luxury car maker Daimler unveiled a deal under which Aabar would become Daimler's biggest shareholder with a stake of 9.1%.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
