Arif Naqvi, founder of Abraaj. Investors say more cash owed to Private Equity Fund IV by Abraaj. AFP
Arif Naqvi, founder of Abraaj. Investors say more cash owed to Private Equity Fund IV by Abraaj. AFP
Arif Naqvi, founder of Abraaj. Investors say more cash owed to Private Equity Fund IV by Abraaj. AFP
Arif Naqvi, founder of Abraaj. Investors say more cash owed to Private Equity Fund IV by Abraaj. AFP

Abraaj unit co-chiefs quit board of management investment business


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The co-chief executives of Abraaj Investment Management (AIML) are stepping down from the board of the unit, days after the Dubai-based firm agreed to sell the bulk of the business to Colony Capital, according to Reuters.

A court in the Cayman Islands appointed provisional liquidators for Abraaj Holdings and Abraaj Investment Management (AIML) earlier this month.

Omar Lodhi and Selcuk Yorgancioglu will no longer serve as directors of the board of AIML, the company said. It added that move does not change their co-chief executive titles.

Last week, Abraaj agreed to sell its Latin America, Sub Saharan Africa, North Africa and Turkey funds management business to US investment management firm Colony Capital.

Earlier on Monday, Abraaj Group, the buyout fund that is in the midst of a court-supervised restructuring, reached an agreement to sell its stake in Middlesex University's Dubai campus to Amanat Holdings for about $100 million, sources told Bloomberg.

An initial agreement was signed but the deal is yet to close, the sources said. Dubai-based Amanat would own all of the UK-based university's campus, which had annual revenues of about $40m, one of the sources said. Spokesmen for Abraaj and Amanat declined to comment.

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Read more:

UAE regulator asks public firms to declare exposure to Abraaj

Air Arabia says total exposure to Abraaj is $336m

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Amanat shares climbed as much as 3.9 per cent in Dubai, before paring gains to 1.6 per cent at 11.30am Gulf time. The shares were poised for their biggest increase in more than a month.

“The acquisition of Middlesex came in at a really good time for Amanat and a terrible time for Abraaj, who is selling it at what I see as a discount,” said Issam Kassabieh, senior financial analyst at Mena Corp in Dubai. “The stock movement indicates investors are happy with the company moving forward with its acquisition and it’s definitely a big plus to diversify their portfolio further.”

Abraaj  was once one of the developing world’s most influential buyout firms. The firm's woes come after investors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, commissioned an audit to investigate the alleged mismanagement of funds.

Amanat, which owns 35 per cent in Abu Dhabi University Holding and 21.7 per cent in Taaleem Holdings, is seeking to expand its presence in the Middle East education sector. The company has about $490m to spend on acquisitions in health care and education, managing director Shamsheer Vayalil said in December.

The Dubai Middlesex campus opened in January 2005 and has more than 3,000 students from over 100 nations. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in a wide range of subjects.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature
By Marion Rankine
Melville House

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

The biog

Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives. 

The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast. 

As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau

He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker. 

If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah

 

DMZ facts
  • The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
  • It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
  • The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
  • It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
  • Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
  • Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
  • Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012. 
  • Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
The Settlers

Director: Louis Theroux

Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz

Rating: 5/5

Fitness problems in men's tennis

Andy Murray - hip

Novak Djokovic - elbow

Roger Federer - back

Stan Wawrinka - knee

Kei Nishikori - wrist

Marin Cilic - adductor

The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
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MATCH INFO

Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)

Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm

Gulf Men's League final

Dubai Hurricanes 24-12 Abu Dhabi Harlequins

No more lice

Defining head lice

Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.

Identifying lice

Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.

Treating lice at home

Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.

Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital

Itcan profile

Founders: Mansour Althani and Abdullah Althani

Based: Business Bay, with offices in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and India

Sector: Technology, digital marketing and e-commerce

Size: 70 employees 

Revenue: On track to make Dh100 million in revenue this year since its 2015 launch

Funding: Self-funded to date

 

The biog

Name: Ayisha Abdulrahman Gareb

Age: 57

From: Kalba

Occupation: Mukrema, though she washes bodies without charge

Favourite things to do: Visiting patients at the hospital and give them the support they need.
Role model: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood.

 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES

SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities

Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails

Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies

Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog

Name: Greg Heinricks

From: Alberta, western Canada

Record fish: 56kg sailfish

Member of: International Game Fish Association

Company: Arabian Divers and Sportfishing Charters

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

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