Drake & Scull International (DSI), a regional engineering and services leader, has announced that UAE-based Tabarak Investment, a private company operating within the diversified financials sector, has acquired the majority shares from the Dubai contractor's former chief executive Khaldoun Tabari.

The transaction reaffirms the commitment of Tabarak Investment to the DSI brand and the promising outlook of the company upon completion of the capital restructuring program which was approved by the shareholders at the Annual General Assembly Meeting held last month, said the statement from the company.

DSI continues to review and optimise its organisational structure by merging and integrating core functions across operating segments to reduce overheads, streamline costs and to improve the bottom line performance.  

It concluded a series of key management appointments at both corporate and subsidiary levels and the new management team has been recently complemented with the appointment of Feras Kalthoum as acting chief financial officer of the group.

The company advanced with the capital restructuring program and received today from the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) further instructions to proceed with the final regulatory preparations in order to fulfil the approval requirements and to initiate the 75 per cent capital reduction.

Phase One of the capital restructuring programme (capital reduction) is expected to be completed within six to seven weeks, said the statement from DSI.

Upon completion of first phase, the company will instigate the execution of Phase Two (capital increase) of the programme which includes the Dh500 million capital increase to accelerate the entry of Tabarak Investment as a major strategic investor in the company.

The initial projected timeline of the capital restructuring program has been deferred by a period of one month and the company now expects to complete the program by the end of the third quarter.

Wael Allan, the chief executive of DSI, said: "We are pleased to see Tabarak Investment reaffirm their unwavering commitment to the company. With their unyielding support, we will aggressively continue to execute our turnaround strategy and undertake key business transformations and strategic initiatives in collaboration with all our stakeholders."

He said the new management team is fully dedicated and geared up for a new phase of financial and operational recovery.

“Despite the short-term challenges, the company is well positioned to benefit from its leadership position in the MEP sector and to secure profitable projects in the UAE market in the near future,” he added.