Maple Invest, an investment vehicle fully owned by Damac Properties’ founder Mr. Hussain Sajwani, submitted an offer to purchase 100 percent of the issued and paid-up ordinary share capital of the Dubai-based developer.
The offer was submitted after the property company’s board recommended that its minority shareholders accept the founder’s proposal to buy it out and take the company private.
In its filing to the Dubai Financial Market, Maple Invest said under the terms of the offer, holders of shares in Damac (excluding Maple and its associated groups) will be entitled to receive $0.38 in cash for each Damac share they hold.
Dubai-based Arqaam Capital is the receiving agent on the offer, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is the legal advisers to Maple. To participate in the offer, Maple asked shareholders to fill in and sign an acceptance form that will be electronically distributed to them and available on Damac’s investor relations website.
The founder of Damac Properties, Mr. Sajwani currently owns 72.21 percent of the company. Earlier this year, Mr. Sajwani stated that he would buy the remaining shares of Damac for a price of $0.35 each, amounting to $595 million.
Mr. Sajwani resigned in June from the board as chairman to avoid a conflict of interest. Damac subsequently appointed vice-chairman Mr. Farooq Arjomand as his replacement, while Mr. Ali Binjab was appointed as vice chairman of the company.
Last month, Mr. Sajwani relaunched a bid to take Damac Properties private through Maple Invest, the British Virgin Islands company he fully owns, after securing regulatory approval to buy shares in the developer. In June, Maple Invest said it plans to own a minimum of 90 percent and up to 100 percent of the developer.
Damac, known for its luxury branded real estate projects with fashion houses and for building the Middle East’s only Trump-branded golf course, has recorded successive quarterly losses. However, the company narrowed those in the second quarter this year, boosted by a recovery in the UAE property sector.
