Emaar Dubai Holding merger

[ITSME]

Hi !
Just read the EMAAR merger news on Economic tines...hope to have positive impact of the news on EMAAR Shares tomorrow...

Reuters 21 November 2009:

Emaar merger talks 'to be over in a month' Dubai's largest listed real estate firm Emaar Properties (EMAAR) expects "technical talks" for its planned merger with state owned developers to be concluded within a month, its chairman said in remarks aired on Saturday. The new firm will announce new projects after the merger, Mohamed Alabbar told Al Arabiya television, without giving details about the size of the envisaged projects or an exact date for the finalisation of the merger. Investors and shareholders have been eagerly waiting for news on the merger, which could dilute their holdings, but would be one of the biggest in the Middle East. Dubai Holding (DH), owned by the ruler of the Gulf emirate, and Emaar said in June they were in advanced talks to merge four local real-estate companies. They said at the time the move would consolidate Emaar, which is building the world's tallest tower in Dubai, with three developers owned by Dubai's ruler; Dubai Properties, Sama Dubai, and leisure developer Tatweer. "Having an entity of this size and such assets in terms of land banks ... would have positive impact on the profitability of the firm for many years to come and on its share," Alabbar said. Emaar said on June 27 it expected the merger to be completed within about four months. Alabbar said the delay was due to the large size of the firms and their projects. All four firms, three of which are not listed, are prominent players in a sector badly hit by the global financial crisis after a six-year boom. Alabbar ruled out de-listing the firm after the merger. "We are in the market ... and will stay." Emaar, which is 31.2 per cent owned by Dubai's government, expects a revenue boost from it $20 billion Burj Dubai development which includes the world's tallest tower in the first quarter and 2010, said Alabbar without giving figures. Property prices in the emirate - with its iconic palm fronds-shaped islands - have slumped since last year. The slowdown has led to project cancellations worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Alabbar said the projects planned after the merger would be suitable for the market. "We have finished the design of some projects. Once the merger is concluded they would be launched."

[sharewadi]

Thanks itsme. Please see your PM inbox.

Reuters 21 November 2009:

Investors and shareholders have been eagerly waiting for news on the merger ...

Oh really? Have we ?

I'm waiting with resignation and trepidation.

1. Resignation because it might be yet another Emaar PR project - lots of talk and no action. Prior to the last Emaar Dubai Holding non-merger there was lots of vague talk that amounted to nothing. Although in retrospect perhaps that was a good thing. Emaar might have kicked off more projects with the extra land at the time, and ended up in a bigger hole with unsold inventory as a result of current economic crisis.

2. Trepidation because the merger might actually go ahead and my Emaar shares will be diluted to almost nothing.

Buying into the Dubai story via Dubai Holding indirectly does have some appeal but I wonder what sort of a deal Emaar shareholders will get.
_________________
UAE IPO list | posting guidelines

[Prop]

In my humble opinion, the merger will materialize (if at all) only after the Burj Dubai opening or even later in 2010. Technical and financial reasons would be brought up and extended until the time is ripe for launching new projects ( it may take few years), e.g. Amlak/Tamweel. Before & after all, no one wants Emaar shares to plunge further

[sharewadi]

My first reaction is that this is a good thing. For Emaar shareholders at least. Agree? Disagree?

Bloomberg 09 December 2009:

Emaar Says It Will Not Merge With Dubai Holding By Vivian Salama Emaar Properties PJSC (EMAAR), the United Arab Emirates’ biggest developer, will not merge with Dubai Holding LLC units (Dubai Holding), according to an e-mailed statement from the Dubai government today.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aAFBP3qJmarg&pos=4
_________________
UAE IPO list | posting guidelines

[Joe]

hmmmm!

Is this another deflection move from the real issue ?

If you apply UAE trading patterns and trading logic usually used in DFM and ADX, this news should cause stocks in ADX that have nothing to do with Emaar or Dubai Holding, to go limit up tomorrow... or am I wrong !

[GVM]

I am fully invested on ADX Aghtia is a good stock and OILC.

[sharewadi]

Emaar statement released this evening. I only received it in Arabic. Usually both Arabic and English statements are sent together for Emaar Properties so perhaps the English version was omitted in error. Hopefully it wasn't because Emaar were fed up with the international press reporting of the Nakheel bond default story this week .

Press Release (Google translation) 09 December 2009:

Board of Directors of Emaar Properties, decide not to merge with Dubai Holding Dubai, United Arab Emirates: The Board of Emaar Properties (EMAAR), said his decision not to proceed with a merger plan with company Dubai Holding (DH) (Dubai Holding), announced several months ago, where the decision was based on the results of in-depth feasibility studies were prepared by a group of senior economist and international consultant under the supervision of officials from both parties. The Board of Directors of Emaar Properties, the results of studies proved that the merger plan that was put to the search proved that the economic feasibility of such a move at the moment. The company Emaar and Dubai Holding have made the preparation of a detailed assessment of the feasibility of consolidating the activities as proposed including an assessment of the various entities and the structure has been proposed for the deal, as was done in parallel with the consultation and to discuss continued cooperation with the relevant regulatory authorities.

Press Release 09 December 2009:

مجلس إدارة إعمار العقارية يقرر عدم الاندماج مع دبي القابضة دبي، الإمارات العربية المتحدة- 9 ديسمبر 2009 : أعلن مجلس إدارة شركة إعمار العقارية اليوم قراره بعدم المضي قدما في خطة اندماج الشركة مع دبي القابضة التي أعلن عنها قبل عدة أشهر، حيث جاء القرار مستندا إلى نتائج دراسات جدوى متعمقة جرى إعدادها على يد مجموعة من كبار الاقتصاديين وبيوت الخبرة الدولية وبإشراف مسؤولي الطرفين. وأوضح مجلس إدارة إعمار العقارية أن نتائج الدراسات أثبتت أن خطة الاندماج التي تم طرحها للبحث أثبتت عدم الجدوى الاقتصادية لتلك الخطوة في الوقت الراهن. وكانت شركتي إعمار ودبي القابضة قد قامتا بإعداد تقييم تفصيلي لجدوى توحيد النشاطات على النحو المقترح بما في ذلك تقييم الكيانات المختلفة والهيكل الذي تم اقتراحه للصفقة، حيث جرى ذلك توازيا مع التشاور والتباحث المستمر مع السلطات التنظيمية ذات الصلة.

_________________
UAE IPO list | posting guidelines

[thajuddeen]

Did anyone say there is a merger ever?

I'm deaf and blind.
_________________
Take your own decision; and you decide your destiny

[GPIC]

SW. Am i reading this statement correctly, because it makes no sense apart from the headline. "Board of Directors of Emaar Properties, decide not to merge with Dubai Holding".

The rest of the statement is poor english. I assume it has been translated badly. But the basic is, the merger is not going ahead. Great, now what...! I take it this will be plastered all over Emaar's website...or am i asking too much!

[sharewadi]

[GPIC]

Bloomberg 09 December 2009:

Emaar Calls Off Merger With Dubai Holding Units Emaar Properties PJSC (EMAAR), the United Arab Emirates’ biggest developer, called off a planned merger with three real-estate units of Dubai Holding LLC (Dubai Holding) because the move wasn’t “economically viable.” Emaar’s board said studies “showed that the proposed merger plan was not economically viable at the current time,” according to an e-mailed statement from the Dubai ruler’s office today. The state-controlled company said in June it was in talks to merge with Dubai Properties LLC, Sama Dubai LLC and Tatweer LLC. Dubai, the second-biggest sheikhdom in the United Arab Emirates, went from being the world’s best performing property market to the worst within a year. House prices, which dropped by more than 50 percent from its peak, will fall another 30 percent as new supply adds to a glut of homes, UBS AG estimates. “Emaar is a much healthier company than the entities they were going to merge with,” said Hashem Montasser, head of regional asset management at EFG-Hermes Holding SAE. “People were concerned about the deal and the terms of the merger, and it created an overhang on the stock even before this Nakheel issue emerged.” Dubai World, a state-owned holding company, said Dec. 1 it is in talks to restructure $26 billion of debt, including a $3.52 billion Islamic bond of its property unit Nakheel PJSC due Dec. 14. Dubai Holding LLC, Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group LLC, Borse Dubai Ltd. and Dubai Sukuk Center Ltd. may join Dubai World in restructuring debt that could take total value of problem loans to $46.7 billion, Morgan Stanley said in a report. Emaar tumbled to the lowest close in four months today, dropping 9.9 percent to 2.56 dirhams after Moody’s Investors Service cut the company’s rating by two levels to B1 yesterday. Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group LLC’s bond due Jan. 30, 2014, dropped 11 percent to 45 cents on the dollar at 6:05 p.m. Dubai time, BNP Paribas London prices show. The bond closed at 50.5 cents on the dollar yesterday.

From our friends at Bloomerg...

Wonder what this will do to the markets tomorrow.

Cant afford anymore nail biting!