http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...-Mansour-invests-280m-in-Virgin-Galactic.html
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the Abu Dhabi sheikh who owns Manchester City Football Club and made roughly £1.5bn investing in Barclays shares during the banking crisis, has turned to space travel by agreeing to acquire 32pc of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic for $280m (£170m).
The deal values Virgin Galactic at $900m, despite the fact it is yet to begin commercial operations, and provides a major financial boost to Sir Richard's venture.
The acquisition is believed to have been partly driven by a growing personal relationship between Sir Richard and the Sheikh and has been made through his investment vehicle Aabar Investments.
Aabar will gain exclusive regional rights to host Virgin Galactic tourism and research flights, and is planning to build spaceport facilities in Abu Dhabi.
It has also committed $100m to fund plans to launch satellites.
Khadem Al Qubaisi, the chairman of Aabar, said the deal, which is subject to regulatory clearance, opened a "new avenue of opportunity" for Abu Dhabi.
"The significant partnership not only falls in line with Abu Dhabi's larger plans to inculcate technology research and science at a grassroots level but also complements its aim to be the international tourism capital of the region," he said.
The announcement comes as Sir Richard unveils the so-called mothership, WhiteKnightTwo (VMS Eve), for his space tourism plans at the Oshkosh air convention in the US.
Virgin has invested more than $100m into Virgin Galactic since its formation in late 2004 and expects the spacecraft that will carry the tourists, SpaceShipTwo, to begin testing later this year.
The investment from Aabar should finance the business until the start of commercial operations, for which a date has not yet been set.
Approximately 300 people, including Stephen Hawking and Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello, have paid $40m in deposits, representing $60m of ticket sales, to guarantee an early seat.
Sir Richard said: "We are delighted to partner with Aabar in a strategic deal that is a first for Virgin Galactic. The initiative will leverage the solid financial backing of Aabar and the pioneering technology and strong global relationships of Virgin Galactic."
So far this year, Aabar has acquired a 9.1pc stake in Daimler, the German manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz cars, for €1.95bn (£1.2bn) and a stake in Tesla, the Californian-based electric car manufacturer. The deals represent Abu Dhabi's desire to diversify away from oil.
Aabar is controlled by the International Petroleum Investment Company, which is wholly owned by the government of Abu Dhabi and chaired by Sheikh Mansour.