Aabar Investments takes $328 million stake in Brazilian bank

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi investment fund that owns the biggest stake in Mercedes-Benz says it has spent $328 million for a piece of a Brazilian bank recently floated by Spain's Banco Santander.

Aabar Investments said Sunday it took its stake in Banco Santander Brasil by buying the bank's U.S. listed shares after its initial public offering last week.

The Abu Dhabi government controls Aabar through a majority stake owned by its state-run International Petroleum Investment Company.

Aabar has become one of Abu Dhabi's most active investment funds this year, taking a 9.1 percent stake in Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler and nearly a third of commercial space travel startup Virgin Galactic.