Abu Dhabi Fund reduces stake in EDP
Mubadala Investment Company, which had more than 4% stake in the Portuguese company, sold a large part of its shares.
Mubadala Investment Company has significantly reduced its stake in the Portuguese electricity company. It had over 4%, but one day before China Three Gorges sold part of its stake in the market, the sovereign fund of Abu Dhabi sold a large part of the shares of EDP, no longer having a qualified stake in the company led by António Mexia.
“On February 26, 2020, Mubadala Investment Company informed EDP that it no longer holds a qualified holding in EDP. Mubadala’s 2% reduction took place on February 25, 2020,” says the press release sent by the company to the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM).
The sale of Mubadala Investment Company stake, a fund held by the Abu Dhabi government, took place on Carnival day, a session marked by strong falls in the Lisbon stock exchange, but also in the other markets as a result of the coronavirus. In that day, it went from 4.06% to 1.4794% of EDP’s capital.
The sale took place before China Three Gorges also advanced with the sale of part of its stake. Almost a year after the takeover bid, in which it tried to take over the entire company, but failed, the largest shareholder reduced its stake by 1.8%. The almost 66 million shares sold resulted in a cash inflow of 292.9 million euros for the Chinese state-owned company.
After the sale, the Abu Dhabi fund no longer has a qualified holding, so it no longer has to notify the CMVM of any further reductions.
No explanation has been given for this sale, but this fund recently announced that it wants to invest in wind and solar photovoltaic energy in the Iberian Peninsula, and this bet will be made through Masdar Cepsa Renováveis, a partnership between Masdar, the fund’s subsidiary, and the Spanish company Cepsa, owned by the fund and also by the Americans of the Carlyle Group.
