DUBAI/MUSCAT: Dubai Group, an investment vehicle restructuring $10bn of debt, is in talks to sell its stake in Oman National Investment Corp Holding (ONIC), three sources aware of the matter said yesterday.
Dubai Group, part of Dubai Holding, the personal investment firm of the emirate’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, was hit hard by the global financial crisis and is considering asset sales to cut debt.
Based on the Omani company’s current market value, Dubai Group’s near-42 percent stake would raise about $54m. The sources were not aware of the name of the potential buyer.
Dubai Group declined to comment.
On Monday ONIC had said in a bourse statement that a major shareholder was in talks to sell its stake in the company to an undisclosed buyer, but provided no further details. “(The ONIC stake) is an asset Dubai Group has been looking to sell for a while, but the key question was whether they could find a potential buyer. They seem to have it now and a sale will ease a bit of pressure,” one banking source said yesterday.
Reuters
