Dubai Investments, a Dubai-listed investment holding conglomerate , has acquired an additional 50 per cent stake in Emirates District Cooling (Emicool) from Union Properties for Dh500 million, giving it full ownership of the utilities company.
"The transaction strengthens Dubai Investments' portfolio in the utility service domain, growing its asset base, and is expected to boost future profitability and deliver value to shareholders," Khalid Bin Kalban, managing director and chief executive officer of Dubai Investments said in a statement to Dubai Financial market (DFM), where its shares are traded. "Emicool has carved a niche in the district cooling sector, and Dubai Investments' acquisition will spur its growth and expansion plans amidst surging demand in the region."
Mr Kalban on January 10 told The National that Dubai Investments had the "first right of refusal" for Union Properties' 50 per cent stake in the district cooling firm and the company as the founding JV partner of Emicool had informed the Dubai developer of its interest in buying the additional stake.
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Exclusive: Dubai Investments may buy Union Properties' stake in Emicool
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As a result of the acquisition, Dubai Investments' earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebidta) is expected to rise by Dh110m. Its total assets would increase by Dh1.8 billion and the liabilities would grow by Dh1.2bn, the company said in the bourse filing.
Emircool, the Dubai Investment Park-based firm was established in 2003 as a joint venture with Union Properties, provides district cooling services to over 19,000 customers in the UAE. The company is planning to increase its capacity to 500,000 tons of refrigeration by 2020 due as demand for district cooling in the UAE and the region continue to grow.
Union Properties said in a separate statement that it had received several offers to buy its stake in Emicool, from both local and international companies, after it decided to shift its strategy and put its stake in the district cooling company on the block. Upon notifying Dubai Investments of its plan to sell its stake, the conglomerate exercised its right as a partner in the business to buy the stake it doesn't already own, Union Properties said. The final legal steps of the deal to give Dubai Investments full ownership of Emicool were concluded on January 18, it said.
"The year 2018 marks the beginning of a new phase in the development and growth of Union Properties," said Nasser Butti Omair Bin Yousif, Chairman of Union Properties.
"After finalizing the development of the company's long-term strategy in the second half of last year and following the successful launch of several new projects and subsidiaries, the sale of our entire stake in Emicool is part of our new strategic approach. We will invest the proceeds of this sale in enhancing our investment portfolio, expanding our operations and development projects, and supporting the group's growth strategy."
Union Properties said on January 11 that it acquired a 5.7 per cent stake in Egyptian developer Palm Hills Development to diversify revenues and expand into new markets. The acquisition announcement came hours after Union Properties said it was in the final stages of selling its stake in Emicool.
Palm Hills, listed on the Egyptian stock exchange and the London Stock Exchange, has a land bank of 41 million square metres, with a portfolio of 26 projects spanning 27m sq m.
Union Properties is reorganising its finances in the wake of sliding real estate prices in the UAE. The developer’s new management team wrote down the value of its assets by Dh2.8 billion last year.
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh132,000 (Countryman)
MATCH INFO
Sheffield United 3
Fleck 19, Mousset 52, McBurnie 90
Manchester United 3
Williams 72, Greenwood 77, Rashford 79
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Bawaal%20
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David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Trolls World Tour
Directed by: Walt Dohrn, David Smith
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake
Rating: 4 stars
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
SUZUME
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