Dubai billionaire Hussain Sajwani to make another attempt at owning 100% of Damac Properties
Sajwani’s private investment firm to put another offer to buy up Damac shares
Dubai: Hussain Sajwani, Dubai's developer billionaire is relaunching a partial offer to take the firm private after the securities regulator of the UAE granted approval, according to a statement on Thursday.
Maple Invest Co., the vehicle backed by Hussain Sajwani, said in a statement that an update to the original $595 million offer made in June is expected within two weeks. The updated offer "will only address process points and not affect the material parameters of the offer, including the offer price which remains at Dh1.30 ($0.354) per share," Maple Invest said.
In June, Sajwani said efforts to take the real estate development firm private were being postponed after the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) launched a review of the transaction. At the time, an SCA representative told Reuters the authority was "inquiring into some facts and circumstances" of the buyout offer, without elaborating on what exactly it was looking into.
"The offer document dated June 9, 2021 remains valid and in full effect, subject to any changes as may be set out in the aforementioned updated offer document," Maple said. The offer came amid years of downturn in Dubai's property market, exacerbated by the economic fallout from the pandemic.
Analysts saw the plan as a blow to Dubai's stock market, hit by a spate of delistings of major companies and an absence of new listings. Sajwani, who resigned as chairman and board member at the time of the offer, directly and indirectly owns 72.21 per cent of Damac, regulatory filings show.
Damac's shares closed at Dh1.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalisation of over $2 billion.