The International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) agreed yesterday to raise its takeover offer for the Abu Dhabi-listed Aabar Investments by more than 34 per cent, handing a victory to minority shareholders in an unprecedented test of the country's stock market regulations.
The Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), the body that oversees local exchanges, announced the increase from Dh1.45 to Dh1.95 a share after talks with the Ministry of Economy and Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development on the fairness of the deal.
The shares of Aabar, which is majority-owned by IPIC, opened at Dh1.55 on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) yesterday and closed up 8.3 per cent at Dh1.57 after the announcement.
The shares had surged by 9.7 per cent in midday trading, nearing the 10 per cent cap allowed by regulations.
"The SCA knows our interests as investors," said Hadi Saleh Mohammed, a trader who bought more than 100,000 Aabar shares last Wednesday.
"They studied the offer and were not convinced that the stock is worth Dh1.45. The picture still has to reflect our interests as well."
IPIC, one of the Abu Dhabi Government's most prominent investment arms, has energy-industry holdings that span the globe, including 64 per cent of the Austrian petrochemicals company Borealis and 20.7 per cent of Cosmo Oil in Japan.
Aabar was founded in 2005 as a small Gulf oil and gas holding company, but sold off its energy assets around the time IPIC began building up a 70 per cent stake at the beginning of last year.
With generous injections of funds from IPIC, Aabar has since become one of Abu Dhabi's most visible investment companies, last year buying a 9.1 per cent stake in the German car giant Daimler and 32 per cent of Virgin Galactic, Sir Richard Branson's commercial space flight venture.
Aabar's latest purchase was last month's 5 per cent stake in UniCredit, Italy's largest bank.
IPIC said last week it would give Dh1.45 a share to the minority investors as part of its plan to take full control of Aabar, although shareholders were free to hold on to their stakes following the delisting. That price was judged by some as too low given that the company's shares had traded as high as Dh2.10 in recent months. The Dh1.45 offer also valued Aabar at less than half of its book value.
The portion of Aabar that is publicly listed was worth about Dh6.3 billion (US$1.71bn) yesterday, according to Bloomberg figures.
The higher price of Dh1.95 a share is the six-month average of Aabar share prices, the SCA said, adding that the offer would commence on Tuesday and run through to August 5. Investors would be paid cash for their shares on August 10, the regulator said.
"I had mixed feelings," said Mohammed Ali Yassin, the chief executive of Shuaa Securities. "On the one side I was happy that through the committee they managed to come up with a better price than what the company offered. But this happened at the cost of some investors that the regulators should have protected."
Those investors, he said, included people who had sold their Aabar shares after the company announced that it was considering a takeover by IPIC last month. Aabar shares fell by 15 per cent from Dh1.68 on June 21, when the plan to go private was revealed, to Dh1.43 last Monday, when IPIC made its original Dh1.45 offer.
The SCA should have suspended trading in Aabar shares immediately after IPIC's overtures were made public, Mr Yassin said.
"Since the SCA decided to establish a committee to discuss the offer and come up with a reply, they should have halted trading on the stock completely," he said. "It should have protected a big amount of people who waited so long and didn't hear anything back from SCA."
Lawyers said yesterday the SCA's action was positive for shareholders and represented what could be the beginning of a drive towards clearer rules for takeovers of public companies. Analysts had worried after IPIC's Dh1.45 offer that foreign investors might be scared away from UAE markets if the SCA gave its approval, considering the price an affront to shareholder rights.
Procedures do exist in the UAE for delisting of companies from stock exchanges, but there are no formal guidelines covering mergers and acquisitions.
"The regulator is trying to deal with situations as they arise, but from these crises we will hopefully see the emergence of a good regulatory framework," said Karl Tabbakh, a partner at DLA Piper Middle East.
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
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Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTS
Bournemouth 1 Manchester City 2
Watford 0 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Newcastle United 3 West Ham United 0
Huddersfield Town 0 Southampton 0
Crystal Palace 0 Swansea City 2
Manchester United 2 Leicester City 0
West Bromwich Albion 1 Stoke City 1
Chelsea 2 Everton 0
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Burnley 1
Liverpool 4 Arsenal 0
Company%20profile
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
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More on animal trafficking
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Crazy Rich Asians
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan
Four stars
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Squads
India (for first three ODIs) Kohli (capt), Rohit, Rahul, Pandey, Jadhav, Rahane, Dhoni, Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Umesh, Shami.
Australia Smith (capt), Warner, Agar, Cartwright, Coulter-Nile, Cummins, Faulkner, Finch, Head, Maxwell, Richardson, Stoinis, Wade, Zampa.
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.