Baillie Gifford, an Edinburgh-based fund manager that holds the largest minority stake in Dragon Oil, is trying to rally other minority shareholders to fight for a better buyout offer from Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc).
Enoc, which already owns 54 per cent of Dragon Oil, last week formally launched a 750 pence-per-share tender offer for the remaining 46 per cent, an offer that will close on July 30 under the rules of the Irish Stock Exchange, where Dragon Oil is listed.
Enoc needs a majority of the minority shareholders – just more than 23 per cent – to vote in favour of its offer to be able to delist the shares and take the company private.
Enoc failed in its first attempt to buy out minority shareholders six years ago.
Saif Al Falasi, the chief executive of Enoc, said that “now is the right time for [the company] to take a more active role” in the management of Dragon Oil.
He added that the offer represented “an excellent opportunity for minority investors in Dragon Oil to realise a healthy return”.
__________
Saif Al Falasi comment
■ Enoc acquisition plan will help Dragon Oil to grow
__________
Writing in an article for The National, Mr Al Falasi said: "I believe the time is right for Enoc to convert a long-term investment into an integrated operating subsidiary that is suitably enabled to grow."
Baillie Gifford, which owns 7.2 per cent of Dragon Oil, responded to the official offer saying that other minority shareholders should join it in holding out for a “contingent payment note” from Enoc, which would give them a guarantee of further payment if Dragon Oil’s production increases substantially over the next few years.
Richard Sneller, the head of emerging markets at the Scottish-based fund manager, said: “Dragon Oil owns a valuable growth asset that we believe has the potential to see production rise materially over the next decade.”
Dragon Oil’s main asset is the Cheleken Contract Area, off the coast of Turkmenistan’s Caspian Sea, where it is the operator and developer of two oil and gasfields, Dzheitune (Lam) and Dzhygalybeg (Zhdanov).
Cheleken reached production of 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent production in June, and Dragon Oil has said it should plateau at that level for the next year or so.
Baillie Gifford, however, argues that Cheleken has the potential to double production over the next decade and that a contingency payment note should give minority shareholders the right to a payment of 50 pence per share for each incremental 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) Cheleken produces above the 100,000 boepd level.
“Our base-case scenario sees 125,000 boepd of production from the Lam field, 30,000 boepd from the Zhdanov field ... and 25,000 boepd from the East Cheleken extension [an extension of a producing field in an adjacent licence block],” Baillie Gifford has claimed. “Under this base case scenario, shareholders would be eligible to receive further payments amounting to a total £2 per share over the coming years.”
Mr Sneller said: “We have endeavoured and failed to engage Enoc in discussions about the inclusion of a contingent payment note [but] the contingent payment note is simple, fair and aligned with the interests of both minority shareholders and Enoc.”
He added: “We encourage shareholders to consider the potential scale of the reserves on the Cheleken licence block before making their own determination whether or not to accept the current offer. Our proposal would provide shareholders with the right to participate in future production growth.”
Setanta Asset Management and Franklin Resources, the next two largest minority shareholders with around 3 per cent each, declined to comment.
On Thursday, when the offer was made, one small minority shareholder voiced support. Henry Dixon, a fund manager at GLG, part of Man Group, which owns about 1 million Dragon Oil shares, or about 0.21 per cent of the company, said 750p per share represented “fair value”.
amcauley@thenational.ae
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In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
The biog
Prefers vegetables and fish to meat and would choose salad over pizza
Walks daily as part of regular exercise routine
France is her favourite country to visit
Has written books and manuals on women’s education, first aid and health for the family
Family: Husband, three sons and a daughter
Fathiya Nadhari's instructions to her children was to give back to the country
The children worked as young volunteers in social, education and health campaigns
Her motto is to never stop working for the country
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Traits of Chinese zodiac animals
Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent
The Gandhi Murder
- 71 - Years since the death of MK Gandhi, also christened India's Father of the Nation
- 34 - Nationalities featured in the film The Gandhi Murder
- 7 - million dollars, the film's budget
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Titan Sports Academy:
Programmes: Judo, wrestling, kick-boxing, muay thai, taekwondo and various summer camps
Location: Inside Abu Dhabi City Golf Club, Al Mushrif, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Telephone: 971 50 220 0326
The Two Popes
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce
Four out of five stars
The biog
Name: Maitha Qambar
Age: 24
Emirate: Abu Dhabi
Education: Master’s Degree
Favourite hobby: Reading
She says: “Everyone has a purpose in life and everyone learns from their experiences”
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday
Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm kick-off UAE)
Bayer Leverkusen v Schalke (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Cologne (5.30pm)
Mainz v Arminia Bielefeld (5.30pm)
Augsburg v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Bayern Munich (8.30pm)
Borussia Monchengladbach v Freiburg (10.30pm)
Sunday
VfB Stuttgart v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Union Berlin v Hertha Berlin (8pm)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
more from Janine di Giovanni
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
