Abu Dhabi’s ADQ to Take Minority Stake in Sotheby’s for $1B

Adding to its luxury investments this year, Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund ADQ has agreed to acquire an undisclosed minority stake in luxury auction house Sotheby’s in a deal worth $1 billion.

Under the terms of the agreement, ADQ will acquire newly issued shares of Sotheby’s with the aim of reducing the company’s leverage and backing its growth strategy. Billionaire investor Patrick Drahi, who acquired Sotheby’s in 2019, is also investing additional capital with ADQ and will remain the majority owner of Sotheby’s.

According to ADQ, the investment will support Sotheby’s growth agenda while accelerating its expansion into new markets. The institutional investor also indicated that the acquisition is part of its strategic plan to boost its arts and culture offerings domestically and to increase its presence in the Middle East.

“ADQ remains committed to exploring compelling investment opportunities that drive value for Abu Dhabi,” said ADQ Deputy Group CEO Hamad Al Hammadi in a statement. “Our investment underscores our firm belief in the enduring value of Sotheby’s brand, market leading platform and the ability of its management to execute on their growth agenda.”

The agreement, expected to close before the end of 2024, adds to ADQ’s luxury goods investments this year. In January, ADQ and Abu Dhabi-based conglomerate ADNEC Group signed agreements for the strategic acquisition of a 40.5% stake in Egypt-based Talaat Moustafa Group Holding’s hospitality arm, Icon Group, including a capital increase. That deal will result in ADQ owning a 49% stake in Icon Group, with ADNEC owning the remaining 51%. The transaction will also involve the acquisition of a stake in seven luxury hotels in Egypt, currently owned by the Egyptian government through Icon.

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Tags: Abu Dhabi, Acquisition, ADQ, minority stake, Patrick Drahi, Sotheby’s

Following negotiations with General Electric Co., now known as GE Aerospace, participants in pension plans formerly sponsored by GE have struck a deal that increases the time they have to file a lawsuit if their pension benefits are not paid in full.

In 2020, GE reduced to one year the amount of time during which participants in the GE Supplementary Pension Plan, the largest of its pension programs, can sue to maintain their pension benefits. GE then announced plans in 2021 to spin off two units into GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. and GE Vernova Inc. (the legacy energy business) while rebranding the original company to GE Aerospace. One year later, in 2022, it transferred the supplementary pension benefits for more than 1,000 current and former GE employees to the smaller, spun-off companies.

According to law firm Engstrom Lee, which represented the plan participants in the negotiations, GE informed the participants that GE was no longer responsible for paying their benefits, even if the new companies failed to pay in the future.

Concerned that the spun-off companies might not be able to pay their guaranteed pension benefits, the participants filed an administrative complaint against GE, alleging that the company had violated federal law by renouncing its obligation to pay their benefits if GE HealthCare and GE Vernova were unable to cover them.

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Under the terms of the agreement between GE and the plan participants, the one-year deadline to file a claim does not start until participants are told they will not be receiving the full amount of their plan benefit or until 90 days after a benefit payment goes unpaid. It also clarifies that participants whose benefits were transferred to the spun-off entities do not agree that GE does not need to cover their benefits.

“After serving GE for nearly 30 years, forgoing other opportunities for the promise of my supplementary pension benefits, I was concerned that my benefits were no longer secure,” said Brian Davies, one of the GE retirees involved in the negotiations, in a statement. “I am relieved that GE has agreed to preserve our ability to enforce our legal rights to protect my family’s financial security in retirement.”