Key Takeaways
- • Mubadala is reportedly in talks to take a stake in Italy's biggest mobile tower firm INWIT as part of a wider take-private, according to Reuters, with Ardian (32%) and Oak Holdings (39%) possibly buying out minority shareholders and bank financing being arranged.
- • SoftBank's Masayoshi Son is sounding out Gulf investors to raise up to USD 100 bn for a new AI-focused acquisition fund, per the Financial Times; no commitments have been announced and the raise could fall through.
- • Airtel Money slipped below its GBP 1.96 IPO price on its London debut, trading at GBP 1.93 despite a heavily oversubscribed offering that valued it at roughly USD 7 bn.
- • Morgan Stanley expects a UAE IPO rebound once regional conflict subsides, noting no UAE IPOs so far in 2026 and Gulf issuers raising more than USD 100 bn of credit this year.
- • DIEZ doubled the venture fund run by its investment arm Oraseya Capital to AED 1 bn, allowing it to follow high-growth startups rather than hand them off as they scale.
Summary
Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala is reportedly in talks to take a stake in Infrastrutture Wireless Italiane (INWIT), Italy's largest mobile telecoms tower firm, as part of a wider take-private transaction, according to Reuters citing sources familiar with the matter. Discussions remain ongoing. A possible structure would see French private equity player Ardian, which holds 32% of INWIT, and Oak Holdings, an investment vehicle backed by KKR, Vodafone and GIP that holds 39%, buy out minority shareholders, with financing being arranged through banks. INWIT's market value has fallen 27% over the last year, and its two primary clients, Telecom Italia and Fastweb, are looking to end their contracts. The company nonetheless generated EUR 1.1 bn in revenue and EUR 785 mn in EBITDAaL last year. Mubadala's telecom holdings include UK telco CityFibre, Indian telecoms group Jio, Northern Europe's GlobalConnect and du in the UAE.
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son is sounding out Gulf investors to raise up to USD 100 bn for a new AI-focused acquisition fund, the Financial Times reports. The vehicle would acquire companies and rebuild their operations around AI, with SoftBank's robotics arm Roze, which Son wants to take public, likely involved. No commitments have been announced. Mubadala committed USD 15 bn to SoftBank's first Vision Fund in 2017, and Abu Dhabi's ties with SoftBank have since widened through G42's Stargate UAE partnership and FAB's participation in SoftBank's USD 40 bn OpenAI bridge loan in July. MGX, backed by Gulf and international investors, closed a USD 49 bn round in July. Key uncertainties include SoftBank's existing USD 65 bn exposure to OpenAI and the postponed OpenAI IPO.
Airtel Money, the Dubai-based fintech, debuted on the London market with shares initially rising to GBP 2 before falling to GBP 1.93, below the GBP 1.96 offer price, according to Reuters. The IPO valued the company at around USD 7 bn and was heavily oversubscribed. The secondary sale raised about USD 703 mn for selling shareholders, who offered 270 mn shares, making it London's largest listing since last September. Parent Airtel Africa, which held nearly 78% before the offering and remains majority shareholder, fell about 6%. Group CEO Ian Ferrao said a potential UAE dual listing remains open; the IFC became a cornerstone investor after Airtel Money secured a regulatory waiver for a UAE listing last November.
Morgan Stanley Co-President Dan Simkowitz told The National that the UAE IPO market will "definitely see a rebound" once regional conflict subsides. The Emirates has recorded no IPOs so far in 2026, after three offerings raised USD 1.1 bn in 2025, according to Dealogic data. Regional issuers have raised more than USD 100 bn in credit this year, and Gulf debt capital markets stood at about USD 1.2 tn outstanding at end-1H 2026 against roughly USD 4 tn in listed equity, per Fitch. GCC bond and sukuk issuance fell 17.5% quarter-on-quarter in 3Q.
Separately, DIEZ has doubled the venture capital fund run by its investment arm Oraseya Capital to AED 1 bn, giving it more capacity to follow high-growth startups rather than hand them off as they scale. Adia is also reportedly weighing backing Indian manufacturing platform Zetwerk.
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son is sounding out Gulf investors to raise up to USD 100 bn for a new AI-focused acquisition fund, the Financial Times reports. The vehicle would acquire companies and rebuild their operations around AI, with SoftBank's robotics arm Roze, which Son wants to take public, likely involved. No commitments have been announced. Mubadala committed USD 15 bn to SoftBank's first Vision Fund in 2017, and Abu Dhabi's ties with SoftBank have since widened through G42's Stargate UAE partnership and FAB's participation in SoftBank's USD 40 bn OpenAI bridge loan in July. MGX, backed by Gulf and international investors, closed a USD 49 bn round in July. Key uncertainties include SoftBank's existing USD 65 bn exposure to OpenAI and the postponed OpenAI IPO.
Airtel Money, the Dubai-based fintech, debuted on the London market with shares initially rising to GBP 2 before falling to GBP 1.93, below the GBP 1.96 offer price, according to Reuters. The IPO valued the company at around USD 7 bn and was heavily oversubscribed. The secondary sale raised about USD 703 mn for selling shareholders, who offered 270 mn shares, making it London's largest listing since last September. Parent Airtel Africa, which held nearly 78% before the offering and remains majority shareholder, fell about 6%. Group CEO Ian Ferrao said a potential UAE dual listing remains open; the IFC became a cornerstone investor after Airtel Money secured a regulatory waiver for a UAE listing last November.
Morgan Stanley Co-President Dan Simkowitz told The National that the UAE IPO market will "definitely see a rebound" once regional conflict subsides. The Emirates has recorded no IPOs so far in 2026, after three offerings raised USD 1.1 bn in 2025, according to Dealogic data. Regional issuers have raised more than USD 100 bn in credit this year, and Gulf debt capital markets stood at about USD 1.2 tn outstanding at end-1H 2026 against roughly USD 4 tn in listed equity, per Fitch. GCC bond and sukuk issuance fell 17.5% quarter-on-quarter in 3Q.
Separately, DIEZ has doubled the venture capital fund run by its investment arm Oraseya Capital to AED 1 bn, giving it more capacity to follow high-growth startups rather than hand them off as they scale. Adia is also reportedly weighing backing Indian manufacturing platform Zetwerk.
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