Aabar Investments board of directors signed off on the plan to turn the company private at a meeting on Thursday. In another meeting, planned for July 26, the board will discuss with shareholder the delisting from the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange (ADX). Aabar, a government-owned company, has been listed on the ADX since 2005.
For such step, Aabar would need approval from the Ministry of Economy and nod from the Securities and Commodities Authority, which regulates the UAE’s stock markets. The complete process will take months.
Aabar first indicated it was considering a delisting last week, when the board called its initial meeting to examine the proposal. The company is about 70 per cent owned by the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), which in turn is fully owned by the Abu Dhabi Government. The remainder of the shares are publicly traded.
If the plan to go private meet shareholders’ and regulators’ approval, Aabar said that the minority investors would not have their shares cancelled.
The de-listing of shares is “not intended to affect the ability of the shareholders to trade their shares,†Aabar’s statement said. “Shares of private joint stock companies are traded outside the market and dealings in shares are registered with the company’s registrar after the issuance of the ministerial resolution to amend the company’s articles of association.â€
The company’s shares will continue to trade on the ADX until the Ministry of Economy signed off on an amendment to its articles of association making it private.
