The merger between Abu Dhabi’s Aldar Properties and Sorouh Real Estate became effective at the close of trade on June 27, a statement said.

 

This follows the publication of a ministerial resolution by the Ministry of Economy which declared the merger effective and approved the increase in the share capital of Aldar and the amendments to its articles of association, the dissolution of Sorouh and the transfer of its assets and liabilities to Aldar from the effective date of such resolution, the statement said.

 

As many as 3.381 billion new Aldar ordinary shares have been issued to those shareholders of Sorouh who appear on the share register of Sorouh immediately after close of trading on the effective date. The new number of outstanding Aldar ordinary shares following the capital increase is 7,862,629,603. 

 

Sorouh has been dissolved and its assets and liabilities have been transferred to Aldar in accordance with the provisions of Federal Law No. 8 of 1984 concerning Commercial Companies (as amended), the statement said.

 

The new Aldar ordinary shares have been listed and admitted to trading on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). Shareholders will be able to trade their new shares from today.

 

The statement also said that the company has successfully negotiated an amendment to the terms and conditions of the loan facility entered into on June 28, 2010 between Sorouh and a syndicate of banks, and which currently has an outstanding balance of Dh2.1 billion. The interest margin on the loan has been reduced from 4.5 per cent to 2.45 per cent, representing a significant and immediate interest cost reduction that clearly demonstrates the synergy benefits of merging the two companies, it said.

 

 Abubaker Seddiq Al Khouri, the new chairman of Aldar Properties, said:  “It gives me great pleasure to announce that today marks the first day of business as a combined company.  Operating under the name Aldar Properties, the business is one of the biggest real estate developers in the region. The company benefits from a strong balance sheet, a large asset base, a prime land bank for development and an experienced management team. These strengths, combined with our continued close partnership with the Abu Dhabi Government, will allow us to flourish commercially in an economy that is sustainable. I believe that all these strong and exciting fundamentals will deliver significant value to all our stakeholders for years to come.” – TradeArabia News Service