FRANKFURT, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - The German conglomerate MAN said Tuesday it would sell 70 percent of its Ferrostaal subsidiary to the Abu Dhabi state-owned group IPIC for an undisclosed amount.

The transaction would be retroactive to January 1 2008, a MAN statement said, and finalised in the first quarter of 2009, at which point the amount involved would be announced.

MAN intended to conserve 30 percent of Ferrostaal, a company that supplies industrial services for the construction of factories and supplies machines, the statement said.

IPIC (International Petroleum Investment Company), is wholly owned by the emirate of Abu Dhabi, and invests in the petrochemical sector and in industries connected with it.

Last year, MAN Ferrostall posted sales of 1.45 billion euros (1.96 billion dollars), and employed 4,200 people around the world.

'The objective of the partnership is to realise potential for growth with MAN Ferrostaal and to open up market potential in the area of future technologies,' the statement said.

It quoted Abdulla al-Qubaisi, managing director of IPIC, as saying: 'By taking a major shareholding in MAN Ferrostaal, we would continue to build up our own portfolio' with a focus on renewable energies, 'in which MAN Ferrostaal can play a key role.'

MAN noted that IPIC is a long-term investor, an important detail in Germany, where state-owned companies and funds from Middle Eastern and other countries are often looked upon with concern.