Dubai’s Damac Properties appointed Farooq Arjomand as chairman after the resignation of majority owner Hussain Sajwani, who launched a bid to take the company private last week.
Mr Arjomand was previously vice chairman of the developer. Ali Binjab was appointed vice chairman, the company said in a statement on Tuesday to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares are traded.
Both appointments take place "with immediate effect", the company said.
Mr Arjomand is the chairman of the Dubai-based Arjomand Group, which is active in 15 industries with offices in Europe, the Far East and the GCC countries, according to his blog. He is also a founding member of the boards of Amlak Finance and Emaar Properties, according to the former's website.
Mr Arjomand holds a degree in business management from Seattle Pacific University in the US and worked at HSBC bank for 17 years.
The new appointments follow company founder Mr Sajwani's resignation to avoid a conflict of interest after he announced his intention to take the company private on June 9.
Mr Sajwani, who owns about 72 per cent of Damac’s shares, launched a Dh2.18 billion ($595m) bid for the remaining 28 per cent, offering Dh1.30 a share, equal to the closing price for the company’s shares last Tuesday, the day before the bid was announced.
Damac has appointed a number of companies to advise on the offer. KPMG Lower Gulf has been appointed valuer while Arqaam Capital has been appointed financial adviser to evaluate the offer from Maple Invest, a Cayman Islands-based company owned by Mr Sajwani that made the bid. Al Tamimi & Company has been named as legal adviser.
Damac, which built the Middle East’s only Trump-branded golf course, has reported six successive quarterly losses and its share price has fallen by about 68 per cent from its most recent peak in August 2017.
The company reported a loss of Dh189.6 million in the first quarter of this year, compared with a Dh106.1m loss in the same period last year.
Revenue fell to Dh642.2m, from Dh1.23bn in the same period last year.
Damac has projects in a number of countries including the UAE, Lebanon, the UK, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
As of March 31, it had delivered 33,334 homes and had a development portfolio of 33,000 more units at various stages of progress and planning, according to its website.
more from Janine di Giovanni
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
RACE CARD
5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Turf) 2,200m
5.30pm: Khor Al Baghal – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Khor Faridah – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
7.30pm: Khor Laffam – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m
The Bio
Favourite Emirati dish: I have so many because it has a lot of herbs and vegetables. Harees (oats with chicken) is one of them
Favourite place to go to: Dubai Mall because it has lots of sports shops.
Her motivation: My performance because I know that whatever I do, if I put the effort in, I’ll get results
During her free time: I like to drink coffee - a latte no sugar and no flavours. I do not like cold drinks
Pet peeve: That with every meal they give you a fries and Pepsi. That is so unhealthy
Advice to anyone who wants to be an ironman: Go for the goal. If you are consistent, you will get there. With the first one, it might not be what they want but they should start and just do it
Zayed Sustainability Prize
PRO BASH
Thursday’s fixtures
6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
