Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Development will sell 49 per cent of its equity interest in Manhal Development, the owner of the campus of the Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi (PSUAD), to Mubadala Infrastructure Partners (MIP).

Mubadala, General Electric and Credit Suisse are co-sponsors of MIP, an infrastructure focused private equity fund investing in Mena and Turkey, which includes regional and international institutional investors.

Ali Eid Al Mehairi, associate director of MIP, said: “Mubadala is proud to have built in conjunction with Abu Dhabi Education Council and Paris Sorbonne, a global leader in education and a world class educational facility.”

“The sale of a minority equity stake allows Mubadala to realise a commercial benefit while being in line with its strategy of sharing project risk with other parties at appropriate times which is an important step in the development of the PPP market locally and in the region.”

“We have a strong relationship with MIP and look forward to leveraging their extensive experience to create further value,” Al Mehairi added.

MIP chief executive officer Philip K Haddad said: “Our investment in PSUAD is aligned with our aim of investing in social infrastructure opportunities throughout the MENA region and Turkey and diversifying our portfolio.”

“We believe PSUAD will deliver strong and reliable returns to our investors, while affording MIP the opportunity to actively participate alongside Mubadala in value creation through operational improvements. We look to furthering our strong relationship with Mubadala on similar opportunities in the future.'

The PSUAD project was completed in August 2010 on Al Reem Island and constitutes approximately 93,000 sq m of state-of-the-art teaching and recreational facilities. The university provides courses in arts, languages and political sciences. – TradeArabia News Service