DIC acquires Britain's Doncasters for $1.3b

Dubai: Dubai International Capital (DIC), the investment arm of Dubai Holding, said it has completed its $1.3 billion (Dh4.78 billion) acquisition of British engineering group Doncasters from Royal Bank of Scotland.

US President George W. Bush recently approved DIC's takeover of Doncasters, which operates nine plants and employs 1,000 people in the US.

Its plant in Georgia supplies turbine fan parts and airfoils for American army tanks and helicopters.

Coming close on the heels of the DP World port takeover controversy, the deal was last month approved after a lengthy national security review by the Treasury Department's Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS). Senator Charles Schumer, who bitterly opposed the DP World deal, said after Bush's approval of the

deal that he would not oppose DIC's purchase of Doncasters because the deal involved products, not services.

A DIC spokesperson in Dubai told Gulf News yesterday the company expects "business as usual in the US," saying the acquisition would not result in restructuring of Doncasters' operations in the US. "We are not involved in day-to-day operations there," the spokesperson said.

"This acquisition allows Dubai International Capital to move forward with its investment strategy to build a diverse portfolio of direct investments across various industries around the world," DIC chief executive officer Sameer Al Ansari said.

Investments around the world

 - $1 billion investment in DaimlerChrysler.

 - $1.48 billion acquisition of Britain's Tussauds Group.

 - $272 million investment in JD Capital investment company in Jordan.

 - $150 million in Ishraq, a company formed to develop and own up to 22 Express by Holiday Inn hotels in the Middle East.