please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . december 2008 learn how and when to remove this template message this article s factual accuracy may be compromised due to out of date information . please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information . august 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message istithmar worlds type subsidiary industry finance and insurance founded dubai uae 2003 headquarters dubai dubai uae key people ahmed bin saeed al maktoum chairman products financial services parent dubai world website www.istithmarworld.com www.istithmar.world istithmar world istithmar is arabic for investment is an investment firm based in dubai united arab emirates uae . this company is a state run business owned by dubai world a dubai government owned company and was established in 2003 . originally known as istithmar the company was renamed as istithmar world in 2008 . istithmar world which was created in 2003 as the investment arm of dubai world specializes in private equity and alternative investment opportunities globally . in the five years since its inception istithmar world has built a portfolio of investments in markets ranging from north america and europe to asia and the middle east and across a variety of sectors including consumer industrial financial services and real estate . an analysis of istithmar s investment portfolio which included the investment of 3.8 billion with an associated 14 billion of debt has not performed positively . in a number of cases istithmar has lost control of assets or sold at a loss . as a subsidiary of dubai world the company has been mentioned in numerous press reports related to the high debt levels of its parent . since late 2009 the company has seen numerous departures of high profile executives . contents 1 istithmar s divisions 2 board and management 3 dubai related financial concerns 4 investment portfolio 5 references 6 external links istithmar s divisions edit headquartered in dubai uae with offices in shanghai china and new york united states istithmar world invests through its three separately managed divisions istithmar world capital istithmar world aviation and istithmar world ventures . istithmar world capital is the private equity and alternative investment arm of istithmar world . since inception iwc has made over 35 investments . istithmar world aviation invests in fast growing sectors of the aviation and aerospace industry including airlines manufacturing engineering and financing . istithmar world ventures is a venture capital platform that provides promising start ups and greenfield ventures with the necessary financial and managerial resources . board and management edit the board of istithmar 1 is led by the chairman hh sheikh ahmed bin saeed al maktoum . other board members include mohammad ibrahim al shaibani director general of the dubai ruler s court abdul rahman saleh al saleh director general of the finance department hamad mubarak bu amim director general of the dubai chamber of commerce and industry sa adi abdul rahim hassan al rais and sun yong chang . each of the divisions had its own management teams until a re organisation was enacted at the end of 2009 and in early 2010 . istithmar world capital saw the departure of its co cios john amato and felix herlihy who had joined the firm in 2006 2 who announced their departure in september 2009 . 3 on 20 january 2010 the ceo of istithmar world capital david jackson announced that he would be leaving the firm . 4 andy watson who had been promoted from cio of nakheel to cio of istithmar became acting ceo . in july 2012 the board of istithmar was reshuffled by chairman sultan ahmed bin sulayem before being entirely replaced a few hours later on the instructions of dubai s ruler sheikh mohammed bin rashid al maktoum by the board of dubai world . 5 dubai related financial concerns edit on 26 november 2009 the wall street journal reported that dubai world was seeking to sign a 6 month debt standstill agreement with its creditors . 6 in response to the announcement moody s and standard & poor s downgraded the debt of various dubai government related entities with moody s downgrading the affected agencies to sub investment grade status . the effect of the announcement was widespread fear in the global financial markets with a negative impact of equities markets around the world and a significant increase in the cost of insuring debt issued by dubai related entities . 7 on 30 november 2009 dubai world made a statement in an attempt to counter rumours and mis understanding . 8 in the statement dubai world indicated that istithmar would not be part of the proposed restructuring process . instead the restructuring process would focus on several property related subsidiaries most notably nakheel . the statement noted that the total debt subject to the proposed restructuring was circa 26 billion . investment portfolio edit istithmar world capital states on its website that it has deployed 3.5 billion of capital in 35 investments across the globe . in an interview with the financial times in march 2009 the then ceo david jackson indicated that total assets under management by istithmar had declined due to the global financial crisis and were 9 billion by the end of 2008 . 9 in the article jackson indicated that istithmar had delivered returns of approximately 10 % since its foundation . according to the times in an article on 7 february 2010 10 istithmar invested a total of 3.8 billion of its own capital from its foundation and took on an additional 14 billion of debt . existing and historic investments include hyflux a singapore base water utility . istithmar bought a 20 % stake in july 2004 for approximately s 25 million . 11 istithmar sold it stake in early 2009 . in january 2010 istithmar entered into a legal dispute with hyflux over the potential exercise of warrants . 12 time warner the us media company . istithmar bought a 2.4 % stake in february 2006 and hired carl icahn to work with them on the investment . 13 in early 2006 time warner s stock price traded above 50 a share . jackson disclosed the stake was sold in the second half of 2008 when the stock price was trading below 50 a share . intercontinental hotels group . bought in sept 2007 and sold toward end of 2009 . jackson indicated that istithmar made no return on the investment . barneys new york a retailer . purchased for 825m in june 2008 . in september 2009 istithmar released a statement to counter rumours of a bankruptcy filing by barney s. 14 despite istithmar s wish to dispel rumours about the financial health of barneys the wall street journal reported that us billionaire ronald burkle who owns some of barneys debt offered to convert his debt and an injection of an additional 50 million into barneys in return for an 80 % stake in the company . 15 istithmar relinquished majority ownership in may 2012 to perry capital which was the company s biggest lender in a deal which reduced barney s debt from 590 million to 50 million although istithmar still maintains a minority stake . 16 loehmann s a specialty retailer in the usa which istithmar bought in july 2006 for 300m . the vendor was arcapita who had bought loehmann s in october 2004 for 178 million . 17 perella weinberg partners a mergers and acquisitions boutique . istithmar invested 100m for a 10 % stake . 18 the pension insurance corporation . other shareholders in the pension corporation include jc flowers jp morgan coller capital lloyds banking group och ziff capital management royal bank of scotland sampo and swiss re . istithmar committed in december 2006 to invest 170 million in the pension corporation . 19 gulf stream asset management an asset management company . istithmar acquired a majority stake in april 2008 . 20 at the time of the transaction gulf has 3.8 billion of assets under management . at the end of 2009 their stated assets under management had fallen to 3.6 billion . glg partners a hedge fund based in london . istithmar acquired its 3 % stake directly from the founders of glg in june 2007 . 21 the 3.4 billion reverse acquisition was calculated at a price of 10 a share . at the end of 2009 glg s shares traded at 3.22 a share . espa international a spa and skincare treatments company . in april 2008 istithmar acquired a 40 % stake in espa 22 houghton mifflin harcourt a publisher in the us . on 22 february 2010 houghton mifflin harcourt announced that empg and hmh had reached an agreement to restructure the finances of the company and recapitalize its balance sheet with a substantial fresh cash investment by institutional investors . 23 according to the irish times 24 the investments by the current equity holders of empg including istithmar and others will see their combined investment of over 3.5 billion written down to zero . empgi an investment company focused on education in china and india . empgi was incorporated in may 2008 as joint venture between empg the holding company that controls houghton mifflin harcourt 25 and istithmar . 26 inchcape shipping services iss a ports and marine management business . in february 2010 the financial times reported that istithmar was looking for buyers of iss for between 600 700m . 27 istithmar bought iss for 285m . arcapita an investment bank based in bahrain tamweel a real estate finance company . istithmar has a 21.6 % stake . in september 2008 istithmar suspended two of its executives who were working at tamweel pending an investigation into financial wrongdoings . 28 in august 2009 they were released on bail having been held without charge for a year . 29 the company s shares have been suspended from the stock exchange since november 2008 . however according to bloomberg in february 2010 the company is seeking permission to have its shares restart trading . however the company needs circa 272 million for its operations . 30 standard chartered bank listed on the london stock exchange with a retail and commercial presence in over 50 countries with a focus on emerging markets . istithmar has a 2.7 % stake . istithmar bought it stake for 1 billion in october 2006 . 31 bumrungrad international hospital a healthcare service provider in thailand and south east asia cirque du soleil an entertainment company . istithmar bought a 20 % stake in august 2008 . 32 in a related deal istithmar s sister company nakheel agreed to a 15 year partnership to develop a permanent show on the palm jumeirah . in february 2010 a canadian newspaper wrote that istithmar may consider selling its stake which it is estimated to have acquired for 600 million . 33 spicejet an indian airline . istithmar invested a total of 50m in spicejet by december 2005 . 34 the entire 13.4 % stake was sold in february 2010 for 1.74 billion rupees 37 million . 35 real estate in the uk . in november 2009 bloomberg reported that the great portland estates had acquired two building developments in london one on regent street another near oxford street for 10 million and a share in future profits . istithmar had acquired the two properties for 80 million two years earlier . 36 istithmar hotels a subsidiary initially formed in april 2006 to hold istithmar s hospitality assets . 37 istithmar hotels acquired a number of landmark new york properties including w hotel union square ; knickerbocker hotel at times square