A United Arab Emirates company controlled by the country’s national security adviser has bought a 50% stake in a Turkish company with links to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, marking the first major deal between the countries since a thaw in relations.

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A United Arab Emirates company controlled by the country’s national security adviser has bought a 50% stake in a Turkish company with links to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, marking the first major deal between the countries since a thaw in relations.

A unit of Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Co. acquired a stake in renewable energy firm Kalyon Enerji Yatirimlari AS for 1.8 billion dirhams ($490 million). IHC is the most valuable listed company in the UAE and is controlled by the Royal Group, a conglomerate that lists Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan – the UAE’s national security adviser and brother of the president – as chairman.

The company’s expansion in Turkey could pave the way for a flurry of deals between the two countries as wealth funds in the UAE’s oil-rich capital search for targets worth billions of dollars in investment. The deal also provides further evidence of a turning point in relations between the two countries that have been at loggerheads for much of the past decade over everything from Islamist movements to conflicts in Syria and Libya.

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The easing of ties could mark a revival in an investment pipeline that has been simmering amid long-standing tensions stemming from Turkey’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group banned in the UAE. . Relations reached a nadir in 2016 when Turkish state media accused the UAE of supporting a coup attempt against Erdogan.

Signed Deals

In November, Turkey and the UAE signed agreements for billions of dollars of investment, including technology and energy, after talks between Erdogan and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan, who is Abu Dhabi’s crown prince. at that time and has since become the president of the UAE.

In June, Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ bought Birgi Mefar, a small Turkish pharmaceutical firm. The fund, which has an estimated $110 billion in assets, is considering spending up to $1 billion in healthcare and fintech targets, Bloomberg reported.

IHC has investments from Elon Musk’s SpaceX to a local fishing company. The company’s shares have risen 129% this year, leading a 20% gain in the FTSE ADX General Index and placing it among the ten best performing global equity benchmarks this year.

Istanbul-based Kalyon Enerji is a closely held unit of Kalyon Holding AS, one of the groups that has drawn sharp criticism from main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu for securing several large contracts from the government. of Erdogan including the $11 billion Istanbul Airport, one of the largest. in the world.