Nearly 9% of Citigroup's stock will be in the control of Middle Eastern investors after the Wall Street bank struck a $7.5bn (€5.1bn) deal to sell a stake to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund.

Citigroup, in a statement last night, announced it has agreed to sell the Abu Dhabi group $7.5bn worth of equity units that will convert into new shares between March 2010 and September 2011. Under the terms of the deal, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority will ultimately receive a maximum 4.9% stake in Citigroup, based on the bank's share price on the conversion dates.