The Saudi Public Investment Fund is in early talks to buy a stake in the Lulu Group International supermarket chain.
According to Reuters, sources familiar with the matter said the company is in talks with Indian-born businessman Yusuf Ali, who founded Abu Dhabi-based Lulu, one of the largest retail chains. In the Gulf region.
one of the sources said that discussions between the Public Investment Fund and the LuLu Group began four to six weeks ago.
It was not immediately clear how much stake the PIF was trying to buy because discussions were still at an early stage, or whether the talks would lead to a final deal.
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and last April an investment firm in Abu Dhabi agreed to buy a stake worth more than $ 1 billion in the Lulu Group, which runs one of the largest hypermarket chains in the Middle East.
Sources told Bloomberg that the company has acquired nearly 20% of the Lulu Group.
Abu Dhabi, which has around 6% of the world's proven oil reserves, is investing in local companies to diversify its economy away from crude oil.
The Lulu deal has been among the biggest deals in the consumer and retail sector in the UAE in recent years.
The Lulu Group also operates department stores as well as other businesses such as hospitals and the real estate sector. Its annual sales are estimated at 7.4 billion dollars, and it has more than 50 thousand employees.
