Al Nowais, according to Italy's Maire, has bought 5% of Nextchem in order to target the Middle East

It was reported by Italy's Maire on Wednesday that Yousef Al Nowais bought a 5% share in Nextchem. This valued the subsidiary of the engineering company at $1.33 billion.

Al Nowais is one of the company's shareholders and has owned a stake of 4.73% for more than 10 years. He paid 62.5 millions euros for 5% in Nextchem which provides technology solutions for companies working on energy transition.

The move was made to boost Nextchem's service in the Middle East. This region is crucial to the global energy transformation and it is where Maire received its largest order.

Maire has won a contract worth $8.7 billion from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in October 2023 as part of its Hail and Ghasha Gas Project, which will produce 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day by the end of this decade.

Al Nowais will support Nextchem in the Middle East. He is CEO of Arab Development Establishment, a United Arab Emirates-based group that specializes in gas and petrochemicals.

Alessandro Bernini, CEO of Maire, said that his role would "give further momentum to the development Nextchem in an area as strategic as the Middle East which is already a major player in the energy transformation".

Maire's revenue in the first nine-months of 2024 was around 6% from sustainable technology led by Nextchem. The remainder came from Integrated E&C Solutions which focuses on projects.

The shares of Maire, which had initially risen almost 6% following the announcement of this deal, were now trading at 7.1 euro at 1554 GMT, in a flat stock market. $1 = 0.9403 euro (Reporting and editing by Alexander Smith; Alberto Chiumento)

(source: Reuters)