Majid Al Futtaim Holding aims to double profit in five years and is weighing an offer to acquire Abu Dhabi consumer finance firm Dunia Finance as part of the plan, according to chief executive Alain Bejjani.
“Dunia is an opportunity that was presented to us, so we are looking at it,” Mr Bejjani said in Dubai. The company has not yet decided whether to make a formal bid, he said. Dunia’s shareholders, including Mubadala Development and a unit of Temasek Holdings, hired Morgan Stanley to explore a sale, people with knowledge of the matter said in July.
Mr Bejjani, 42, who became chief executive in February after roles including chief corporate development and brand officer, said acquisitions could be part of MAF’s expansion. Buying privately owned Dunia would be a strategic fit for Majid Al Futtaim’s finance unit, which caters to customers at the group’s malls, he said.
He said the company is targeting a 100 per cent increase in profit, revenue and gross lease-able area over the next five years, mainly through organic growth. Majid Al Futtaim operates 18 shopping malls across the Middle East, including Mall of the Emirates, which features the region’s first indoor ski slope.
MAF has made several acquisitions since it was founded in 1992 by Emirati businessman Majid Al Futtaim. In 2013 it bought Carrefour’s 25 per cent stake in its Middle East joint venture for €530 million, giving the Dubai-based company full control of the Carrefour stores across the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia.
It also acquired a stake in UAE-based mobile payments company Beam Wallet at the end of 2014 for an undisclosed amount, and paid US$77m to buy out Australia’s Amalgamated Holdings from its cinemas joint venture in the Middle East in 2010.
“We have done deals in the past to consolidate our ownership in some of our assets as we are focused on creating value and owning and mastering the experience” of our customers, Mr Bejjani said.
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What is the Supreme Petroleum Council?
The Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council was established in 1988 and is the highest governing body in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas industry. The council formulates, oversees and executes the emirate’s petroleum-related policies. It also approves the allocation of capital spending across state-owned Adnoc’s upstream, downstream and midstream operations and functions as the company’s board of directors. The SPC’s mandate is also required for auctioning oil and gas concessions in Abu Dhabi and for awarding blocks to international oil companies. The council is chaired by Sheikh Khalifa, the President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi while Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the vice chairman.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Third Test
Result: India won by 203 runs
Series: England lead five-match series 2-1
No Shame
Lily Allen
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