Another Abu Dhabi Fund Seeks Out Credit Ratings

The company is the majority owner of Aabar Investments PJSC, the Abu Dhabi investment firm that last month took a 9.1 percent stake in Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler AG. Aabar is now the German automaker's largest shareholder.

IPIC also has made numerous investments on its own behalf, primarily in the oil and chemical industries.

The company last month became the second largest shareholder in Spanish oil company Cepsa after buying a 37.5 percent stake. It recently spent about $500 million to acquire Nova Chemicals Corp., Canada's largest plastics producer, and has agreed to buy 70 percent of German industrial services company MAN Ferrostaal AG.

IPIC is chaired by Sheik Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a prominent member of Abu Dhabi's ruling family, which controls the UAE presidency. He led last year's takeover of English football team Manchester City and joined Qatari investors in pumping billions of dollars into British bank Barclays PLC.

IPIC's decision to acquire ratings follows a similar move by another Abu Dhabi investment arm, Mubadala Development Corp. Mubadala late last week issued its first annual report, a move almost unheard of among Gulf state-owned funds.