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Abu Dhabi owned industrial group is new City sponsor
An Abu Dhabi-controlled industrial services group has become the latest sponsor partner for Manchester City.
Ferrostaal, which is based in Germany, is 70 per cent owned by the International Petroleum Investment Company of Abu Dhabi (IPIC), which acquired its stake in March.
City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan, the brother of Abu Dhabi’s ruler, is chairman of IPIC.
City is also sponsored by the emirate’s airline Etihad Airways, and its telephone company Etisalat.
Ferrostaal, formerly known as MAN Ferrostaal and where MAN AG retains a 30 per cent stake, project manages turnkey installations, including petrochemical plants, gas and solar power stations, oil and gas installations, biofuels and industrial plants.
It is based in Essen, in the Ruhr, and employs around 4,440 people in more than 60 countries. In 2008, its annual turnover was 1.6 billion Euros.
The deal was signed today by Ferrostaal chief executive Dr Matthias Mitscherlich and City chief executive CEO Garry Cook and chief commercial officer Steve Sayer.
Until the end of the 2011/12 Premier League season, Ferrostaal’s company logo will appear on perimeter boards at every home league and domestic cup game.
An annual pre-season friendly will be played against a German Bundesliga club as part of the three-year deal.
"Football is a sport which is very popular in the countries which are important for us and attracts a great degree of attention there,” said Dr Mitscherlich in a City news release which did not mention Ferrostaal’s Abu Dhabi ownership.
Garry Cook said: “We are delighted to become partners with a company of the calibre of Ferrostaal.
”With their recently gained independence, they are embarking on an exciting period in their history just as Manchester City has entered its own bright new era.
“As a premium company, with world recognition in its field, Ferrostaal joins with our other valued partners Etihad, Umbro and Etisalat, and gives us the opportunity to work and connect together as a group of companies as we and they continue to grow globally.”
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