Mubadala has sold shares worth more than US$600 million in the California-based semiconductor company AMD as the Abu Dhabi-based company presses ahead with a strategy of capitalising on long-term investments.
According to a market filing on Saturday, Mubadala sold shares worth $613.4m on the public market in the Nasdaq-listed multinational known for developing computer processors and related technologies.
Mubadala said the sale equated to 45 million AMD shares – nearly a third of the UAE company’s 142 million shareholding.
The company said it planned to hold the remaining 97 million shares it owns in AMD, meaning even after the sale it will remain its largest single shareholder.
It is followed by the US-based asset management company BlackRock, which currently owns an 8.69 per cent stake.
AMD, formerly known as Advanced Micro Devices, is the second largest supplier in the world of standard computer microprocessors after its main rival Intel.
Mubadala first invested in AMD back in 2007. The company said that it had decided to realise some of its investment in the company and would use the cash for further opportunistic investment.
Shares in AMD fell 7.09 per cent on Friday after falling 6.26 per cent on Thursday, marking a sharp dip at the end of a bull run for the stock which has continued since the end of last year and reached a 10-year high on Tuesday. Analysts put the decline down to a poor review of the company’s Ryzen 7 chip.
“This is in line with our strategy, as a long-term investor, to monetise certain assets at a time of significant gain in value. We continue to believe strongly in AMD and remain a significant shareholder in the company,” said Brian Lott, a spokesman at Mubadala Development Company.
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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