Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan chairs the entity that controls CYVN Investments’ $3.3 billion stake in Nio, a new SEC filing published Tuesday after US markets closed showed.
The Schedule 13D amendment reveals for the first time the full board composition of L’imad Holding Company, the Abu Dhabi government-owned parent of CYVN Investments RSC — which holds 418,833,157 Nio shares representing a 17.9% stake.
The disclosure shows the Chinese electric vehicle maker’s largest outside investment is overseen at the highest levels of the Gulf emirate’s government, with L’imad Holding’s board including some of Abu Dhabi’s most powerful figures.
Investment History
Abu Dhabi’s investment in Nio totals approximately $3.3 billion across three tranches completed in 2023.
In July 2023, CYVN Holdings invested $738.5 million in cash to subscribe for 84,695,543 newly issued Class A ordinary shares at $8.72 per share.
Concurrently, CYVN acquired 40,137,614 Class A ordinary shares from Image Frame Investment, an affiliate of Tencent Holdings, for $350 million at the same $8.72 per share price.
Following those transactions, CYVN beneficially owned approximately 7% of Nio‘s outstanding shares and gained the right to nominate one director to the company’s board.
In December 2023, CYVN committed an additional $2.2 billion to subscribe for 294,000,000 newly issued Class A ordinary shares at $7.50 per share.
The transaction brought CYVN’s ownership to approximately 20.1% and entitled the investor to nominate two directors to Nio’s board.
The stake has since been diluted to 17.9% as Nio has issued additional shares, though CYVN has not sold any of its holdings.
Corporate Structure
The new SEC filing clarifies the ownership chain of Nio‘s Abu Dhabi investment.
CYVN Investments RSC Ltd directly holds the 418,833,157 Nio shares. L’imad Holding Company – P.J.S.C wholly owns CYVN Investments.
The Government of Abu Dhabi, represented by the Abu Dhabi Department of Finance, wholly owns L’imad Holding.
CYVN Investments is managed by three directors: Samer Salah Mohammad Abdelhaq, General Counsel of the Abu Dhabi Department of Finance; Kamal Ishaq Abdulla Ismail Almaazmi, Director General of Strategic Financial Affairs at the Abu Dhabi Department of Finance; and Eddy Georges Skaf, Chief Investment Officer of CYVN Holdings.
Board Representation
Two months after CYVN completed its $2.2 billion second tranche, Nio appointed two new directors with ties to the Abu Dhabi fund.
Eddy Georges Skaf and Nicholas Paul Collins joined Nio‘s board effective February 7, 2024, the company announced at the time.
James Gordon Mitchell, a representative of early investor Tencent Holdings, resigned concurrently.
Skaf has served as Chief Investment Officer of CYVN Holdings since May 2023 and acts as a director of several CYVN affiliates, including McLaren Group Holdings Limited, Forseven Limited, and CYVN Investments RSC Ltd.
Collins served as Chief Executive Officer of Forseven since January 2024 before being appointed CEO of McLaren Group Holdings Limited in April 2025.
CYVN Holdings Portfolio
The Nio investment is part of CYVN Holdings’ broader push into the global mobility sector, with the Abu Dhabi fund deploying over $6 billion across three interconnected companies.
CYVN invested approximately £1.2 billion ($1.6 billion) to acquire McLaren’s automotive business from Bahraini sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat, according to the Financial Times. The fund separately invested about £1 billion ($1.34 billion) in Forseven, the British EV startup founded in 2022.
In April 2025, CYVN announced the creation of McLaren Group Holdings Ltd., combining McLaren Automotive, its non-controlling stake in McLaren Racing, Forseven, and a new McLaren Licensing business under a single entity.
Collins, who led Forseven through three years of stealth-mode development, was appointed to lead the combined McLaren Group.
Technology Transfer
The consolidation positions Nio‘s technology to reach Western markets through McLaren.
“McLaren Automotive will benefit from CYVN’s strategic investment in Nio, to deliver access to visionary technologies and electrification, in addition to three years of stealth mode development from the team at Forseven,” CYVN and McLaren said when announcing the acquisition.
The arrangement could bring Nio technology to US roads — a market the Chinese automaker has been unable to enter directly due to regulatory barriers, high tariffs, and geopolitical tensions.
“Nick Collins did a great job with backdoor merging McLaren into a master Nio tech licensing agreement, so you’ll likely see some pieces of Nio on US roads,” a Reddit user claiming to be a former Nio employee wrote on the platform last October, as reported by EV.
Strategic Partnership
Beyond the financial investment, Nio and CYVN have agreed to pursue collaborations in international markets.
“We are deeply inspired by CYVN’s vision to accelerate the global transition to a more sustainable future, and we appreciate its endorsement of Nio‘s unique values,” Nio founder and CEO William Li said when announcing the December 2023 investment.
“Our increased investment in Nio represents a continuation of our ongoing strategy to build a leading global portfolio in the mobility space,” Al Zaabi said at the time. “This transaction demonstrates our confidence in Nio‘s unique positioning and competitiveness in the global smart EV industry.”
Filing Context
Tuesday’s filing is Amendment No. 5 to CYVN’s original Schedule 13D, which was first filed in July 2023.
It follows Amendment No. 4 filed just five days earlier on January 8, which disclosed the same 17.9% stake but did not include the L’imad Holding board composition.
CYVN director Eddy Georges Skaf personally holds 60,000 Nio shares, representing less than 0.1% of the outstanding Class A ordinary shares, according to the filing.
Nio shares closed at $4.68 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, down approximately 46% from the $8.72 price CYVN paid in its initial July 2023 investment and 38% below the $7.50 price of the December 2023 tranche.
Nio Performance
The disclosure comes as Nio prepares to report one of the most important financial results in its eleven-year history.
The company founded and led by William Li targeted in early 2025 the Non-GAAP breakeven for the final quarter of the year.
In a recent update, Li said in a media briefing in China that he remained confident that the goal would be achieved while noting that the financial results were still being audited.
The Shanghai-based company delivered 326,028 vehicles globally in 2025, including contributions from its more affordable sub-brands Onvo and Firefly.
