Gulf sovereign wealth funds spent a record $119 billion last year buying into companies around the world, and now Abu Dhabi is starting to take some chips off the table.
Mubadala Investment Company sold 22 million shares of GlobalFoundries in a single block trade on May 26, which raised close to $2 billion. The shares moved at $89.96 each, with Morgan Stanley handling the trade.
Mubadala still controls roughly 73% of GlobalFoundries after the sale, which is the chipmaker it took public on the Nasdaq back in 2021. The fund's co-CEO of private equity, Camilla Languille, said Mubadala remains committed to GlobalFoundries' long-term strategy.
The market reaction was mixed, with GlobalFoundries shares falling almost 7% during the trade before clawing back to close at $89.96. That's tighter than a lot of large block trades end up looking.
GlobalFoundries' first quarter showed why some investors might be cautious, with revenue rising 3% from a year earlier to $1.6 billion. Net income dropped 60% to $104 million over the same stretch, according to the company's filing.
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The pattern across Gulf wealth funds is more interesting than any single trade, with these funds now sitting on more than $5 trillion in combined assets. They spent at a record clip last year on artificial intelligence, infrastructure, and domestic emerging market projects.
Selling down a mature, public position like GlobalFoundries is how they free up cash for the next wave. Mubadala alone has signed more than 300 deals in the last five years, and its portfolio sits at about $385 billion after rising nearly 20% in 2025.
Mubadala already sold $950 million of GlobalFoundries stock back in May 2024, which means this latest sale is roughly twice that size. That suggests the fund is comfortable being a long-term majority owner while still trimming when prices allow.
The bigger question is which sector gets the recycled capital next, since Gulf funds have been pouring money into AI, energy infrastructure, and Western tech for two straight years.
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