International Holding Company (IHC), Abu Dhabi, has disclosed that its subsidiary International Tech Group is acquiring an 80% stake in Marlan Holding — the group behind Marlan Space and its Orbitworks joint venture. The deal takes IHC into a new area for the group: the "new space economy", the commercial space infrastructure sector. Financial terms were not disclosed and the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals. Here is what IHC is buying and what the deal means for UAE business and investors.
What happened
On 9 September 2026 International Holding Company (ticker IHC on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange) informed the market via an ADX regulatory disclosure that its International Tech Group unit had signed an agreement to acquire an 80% stake in Marlan Holding. Deal terms were not disclosed and closing is subject to regulatory approvals. IHC shares closed flat at AED 366 on the day (roughly −8% year-to-date).
The stated purpose is a "strategic majority acquisition" that will extend IHC's portfolio into deep tech and the "new space economy". As IHC CEO Syed Basar Shueb put it: "space is becoming an increasingly important part of the global technology and infrastructure landscape, with applications extending across communications, Earth observation, data and artificial intelligence".
Inside Marlan Holding and Marlan Space
Marlan Holding is the UAE holding entity behind its operating company Marlan Space. Marlan Space positions itself as an "investor-operator": not a single factory or project, but an investment and operating platform across satellite systems, autonomous operations and advanced computing. IHC is therefore not acquiring a single technology but a structure that already holds several assets and can plug in new ones.
The flagship in the portfolio is Orbitworks, a joint venture between Marlan Space and US-based operator Loft Orbital. Announced in August 2024 as an approximately $100 million project, it is the Middle East's first private commercial space infrastructure company. Its production and testing base sits at KEZAD in Abu Dhabi, where satellite assembly, integration and testing takes place. The Altair programme is an AI-enabled multi-sensor Earth observation constellation.
Marlan Space CEO Hamdullah Mohib commented that the majority shareholder will help the company "pursue opportunities across the global space economy".
IHC: why space, and what changes
International Holding Company (IHC) is Abu Dhabi's largest listed group by market capitalisation, with — by its own count — more than 1,300 subsidiaries. Its perimeter covers finance, industry, real estate, AI, digital infrastructure and advanced technology. IHC's own space footprint is not new: in 2020 the group entered SpaceX through the Falcon CI IV fund, and in June 2022 added another approximately $25 million. Marlan Holding is the group's first "home" bet on a space platform inside the UAE itself.
The financial backdrop of the deal is active. In Q2 2026 IHC's net profit rose 220% year-on-year to $3.5 billion; in H1 2026 the group deployed roughly AED 14 billion (about $3.8 billion) into associates, joint ventures and real estate. Publicly stated global investment plans over the next six months run up to $8 billion. On that balance, a majority stake in the country's home-grown space platform is not an experiment — it is a locked-in bet.
What the deal means for UAE business and investors
First — a diversification signal. The UAE's national strategy has long been built around moving off an oil-only model into industry, fintech, AI and advanced tech. The space economy is one of the few areas where the country is building an exportable industry from scratch rather than buying a finished one. The country's largest private holding group taking majority control of the national space platform confirms the underlying line we set out in UAE Economic Outlook 2026: capital-intensive bets by IHC, Mubadala and ADQ do not ride a "hot cycle" — they run on long strategies with a 5–10-year horizon.
Second — a signal for the tech sector and suppliers. A majority shareholder the size of IHC sitting on top of Marlan and Orbitworks changes the scale of possible orders: satellite manufacturing and integration, components, ground infrastructure, constellation-management software, Earth observation analytics. Local and international technology firms gain a potential anchor customer in Abu Dhabi. For businesses already weighing a UAE presence, that is one more argument on the "go" side — alongside the UAE's expanding CEPA trade agreements that turn the country into an export hub into third markets.
Third — a signal for investors. Deal value is not disclosed, regulatory approvals are not complete, and the market reaction on the day was muted (the IHC share closed the announcement day flat). Structurally, however, IHC is adding a rare and defended asset to its perimeter: the region's only private space manufacturer with a ready-made JV alongside US-based Loft Orbital. Deals of this kind are typically repriced by the market not on announcement day but over the following 12–24 months, as first launches and contracts arrive.
Key numbers and next steps
- Stake acquired: 80% of Marlan Holding.
- Buyer: International Tech Group, subsidiary of IHC (Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, ticker IHC).
- Target portfolio: Marlan Space, the Orbitworks JV (with Loft Orbital, US) and the Altair programme (AI-enabled Earth observation).
- Status: disclosed to ADX; closing subject to regulatory approvals; deal terms not disclosed.
- Market reaction: IHC shares closed flat at AED 366; roughly −8% year-to-date.
This article is informational and is not investment, tax or legal advice. The primary source is the regulatory disclosure by International Holding Company (IHC) to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on 9 September 2026; additional confirmations are The National (Business, 9 September 2026) and AGBI (Space, 9 September 2026). Deal terms were not disclosed and closing is subject to regulatory approvals. Investment decisions should be taken with your financial and legal advisers.
