Aabar Investments, Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund and top investor in German carmaker Daimler, is set to buy out its minority shareholders at Sunday's closing price of 1.45 dirhams a share and delist from the stock market.

The stock has fallen 19 per cent since it announced plans to delist in June and the move takes Aabar, one of the most transparent in the secretive world of sovereign funds, back into the shadows. It also becomes the first delisting of a local firm from the Abu Dhabi bourse.

The state-owned investment vehicle, which owns 9 percent of Daimler, said the offer period for the buyback will be valid from July 12 to August 1.

The firm also asked the market regulator for permission to delay a July 26 shareholders meeting called to discuss the delisting until August
 8.

Aabar surprised investors last month when it announced it was considering delisting and converting to a private joint stock company.

The firm, with estimated assets of $10 billion, is 71-per cent owned by Abu Dhabi government investment vehicle International Petroleum Investment Corp (IPIC) according to Reuters data.

Last month, Aabar bought a 4.99 per cent stake in Italian bank UniCredit worth $2.5 billion, becoming the bank's second largest shareholder.

It hit the headlines last year by picking up a 9.1 per cent stake in Daimler for about $2.7 billion and a 32 per cent stake worth $280 million in Virgin Group's space travel unit Galactic.-Reuters