Decks cleared for Dubai’s Emaar Properties and Emaar Malls merger

Dubai: All of the conditions for the merger between Emaar Properties and its retail arm Emaar Malls have been met, with November 21 being the date set for the shares swap to be done. Following this, the de-listing of Emaar Malls – which lists The Dubai Mall and the upcoming Dubai Hills Mall – will happen.

“There are no objections on the merger,” Emaar Malls said in a statement. (Investors have cheered the bit of news, with Emaar Properties' share going past 1 per cent in early Thursday trades.)

This will be the second biggest such merger happening on DFM in the last 12 months – earlier, there was the one between the Dubai master-developer Meraas and DXB Entertainments, the owner of Dubai Parks and Resorts.

This will be the timeline for the change at Emaar Malls:

November 15: Last trading date to be entitled for share swap.

November 16: Date of suspension of trading of Emaar Malls shares.

November 21: Activation date of merger for Emaar Malls' shares swap and delisting from Dubai Financial Market.

Asset heavy

Earlier, the UAE regulator SCA (Securities & Commodities Authority) had cleared the transaction. This move allows Emaar Properties to bring back an asset-heavy subsidiary back into its fold in full, and this way better leverage its future funding requirements.

Dubai Hills Mall is the next big retail and entertainment destination for Dubai, adding another 2 million square feet of space in the sector. There will be more than 700 stores, with the mall serving a growing resident base in the surrounding neighbourhood of Dubai Hills.