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Abu Dhabi’s ADQ buys minority stake in Sotheby’s

By Pramod Kumar
ADQ's investment will support Sotheby’s' expansion into new markets, including establishing a robust presence in the Middle East Creative Commons 2.0/Ajay Suresh
ADQ's investment will support Sotheby’s' expansion into new markets, including establishing a robust presence in the Middle East

Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ and Patrick Drahi, majority owner of auction house Sotheby’s, will jointly invest $1 billion in the company to support its expansion plans.

As part of the agreement, ADQ will acquire a minority stake in Sotheby’s, a British-founded company that has its headquarters in New York. The value of the sovereign fund’s investment was not given.

The investment will support Sotheby’s in delivering its “ambitious growth agenda while accelerating its expansion into new markets, including establishing a robust presence in the Middle East”, ADQ said in a statement.

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“The additional capital and investment will enable Sotheby’s to accelerate our strategic initiatives,” said Sotheby’s CEO Charles Stewart.

In March the Knight Frank Global Wealth report revealed that the value of artworks has more than doubled over the past decade.

2023 was one of Sotheby’s Middle East department’s most successful years. Its 20th Century Art/Middle East sale took the highest total since its introduction as a regular fixture of the London auction calendar back in 2016.

Among the impressive results, a record was set for the highest price paid for any Saudi artist ever to be offered at auction, with a painting by Mohammed Al Saleem from 1986 reaching $1.1 million.

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