UAE's Aldar Investments to acquire Etihad Airways plaza, centre for Dh1.2 billion

Dubai: Aldar Investments announced on Wednesday it will be acquiring full ownership of Etihad Plaza and Etihad Airways Centre from Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Group for Dh1.2 billion.

The transaction is expected to complete in the second quarter of this year, and will come in exchange for transfer of full ownership of Etihad Headquarters to Etihad Airways. The three buildings were previously held in 50/50 joint ventures between Aldar and Etihad.

As part of the transaction, Aldar Investments, a subsidiary under the publicly-listed Aldar Properties, will assume existing debt within the Etihad Plaza and Etihad Airways Centre. The company said full ownership of these assets will enable it to recognise an annual net operating income of Dh0.1 billion, which were previously reported as a share of profits from the joint venture.

For loss-making Etihad Airways, the sale comes amid restructuring plans as the carrier aims to turn around from the $1.52 billion in losses reported in 2017 and the $1.95 billion in losses a year earlier. As part of those plans, Etihad is also restructuring “a large portion” of its aircraft orders from both Boeing and Airbus, it said two weeks ago.