Aabar has become one of the oil-rich Gulf's most active investment funds. It is the biggest shareholder of Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler, and has large stakes in Richard Branson's commercial space travel startup Virgin Galactic and Italian bank UniCredit.

It also ranks among the region's most transparent state-backed funds due to its listing on the stock exchange.

It said on Monday that its controlling shareholder, the International Petroleum Investment Company, will offer shareholders 1.45 dirhams (39 cents) per share, equal to the closing price Sunday.