Tabarak Investment increases its stake in Dubai contractor Drake & Scull

Dubai’s Drake and Scull (DSI) announced that the ownership of Tabarak Investment has increased from 13.26 per cent to 13.73 per cent of the paid-up capital of the contractor.

In a bourse statement, DSI said that some of these shares were being held under the name of Ajman Bank as a collateral against financial facilities.

“Tabarak Investment retains its actual ownership rights as the beneficiary owner of the shares,” the statement added.

The news comes even as DSI announced last week that it would hold a meeting for shareholders later this month to decide whether to dissolve the company.

The contractor, which posted a second-quarter net loss of Dhs181.1m ($49.3m), said it was calling a general assembly on September 27 under an article of UAE company law which requires firms to vote on whether they should continue operating if their accumulated losses have reached half of their issued share capital.

DSI however clarified that its board and management would put forth their full efforts to ensure the company continued operating.

The general assembly vote “is a mere legal requirement” and a “procedural step that needs to be taken and doesn’t mean that there is an intent to dissolve the company prior to the expiry of its term,” a statement said.

Read more: Dubai contractor Drake & Scull says shareholders to decide whether to dissolve firm

Dubai’s DSI says it will seek to keep operating as shares slide

Drake & Scull has been hit by a slowdown in the regional construction sector over the past few years.

In a bid to turn around operations, the company also appointed a new CEO of the group and its subsidiaries in August – its second executive in less than five months.

Read more: Dubai’s Drake and Scull replaces CEO, blames ‘rumours’ for share price drop

Its biggest shareholder is Ajman Bank with 13.06 per cent, according to stock exchange data. Other shareholders include local private equity firm Tabarak Investment and local businessman Adel Abdulhamed Ibrahim al-Hosani, according to Thomson Reuters data.