In a yet another setback for Abu Dhabi after the recent Dubai crash, Abu Dhabi would have to buy Citigroup shares at almost eight times of their existing value. Citigroup shares were trading at $4.06 per share on the bourses forcing ADIA to pay 7.8 times more the original value of shares.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) had signed a bailout deal in November 2007 and time has now come to start exchanging convertible bonds issued by Citigroup for common shares in the bank. Both Citigroup and Sheikh Ahmed Bin Zayed Al Nahayan, the authority's Managing Director had hailed the agreement, terming it as a new era of their relations for future growth.

Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the leader of Dubai, had earlier pulled media and global investors for remaining fail to access Dubai World's crisis that plunged stock markets across the globe.

The ADIA had already paid $7.5 billion for its Citigroup convertibles and next conversion is expected to be done in four tranches between March 2010 and September 2011. The ADIA would acquire a 4.9 per cent stake in the bank after completing all transactions at $31.83 to $37.24 per share price band.