ADNOC acquires 25% stake in Austria's Borealis from Mubadala

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has bought a 25% stake in Austria's Borealis from the UAE's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, the company said in a statement April 29.

The investment will allow ADNOC to expand into the chemical and petrochemical sectors in Europe and the Americas, the company said in a statement.

The transaction comes ahead of the planned listing of a 10% stake in Borouge, a joint venture between ADNOC and Borealis. The transaction will not have an immediate impact on Borouge's shareholding structure, according to an ADNOC spokesman.

Borouge is made up of Borouge ADP, its production entity and Borouge Pte, which is the sales and marketing company.

ADNOC holds a 60% interest in Borouge ADP and half of the stake in Borouge Pte.

ADNOC, Mubadala and Borealis declined to comment on the financial details of the stake sale.

Austria's OMV will own the remaining 75% of the company following the completion of the transaction, which is pending regulatory approvals. Mubadala is also one of OMV's shareholders, retaining a 24.9% stake in the company.

Earlier this year, ADNOC and Borealis announced the startup of a new polypropylene unit that will boost total polymer capacity of polyolefins by 11% at their petrochemical joint venture in the UAE ahead of a 2024 launch of a $6.2 billion expansion.

Joint venture Borouge has commenced operations at its fifth polypropylene unit, which will boost the production capacity of the commodity by 25% to 2.24 million mt/year and its total polymer capacity of polyolefins by 11% to 5 million mt/year.

Expected to become operational in 2025, the Borouge 4 project includes construction of a 1.5 million mt/year ethane cracker and two polyethylene plants. It will make the site the world's largest single-site polyolefin complex at 6.4 million mt/year.