Contractor's shareholders approve restructuring plan that includes the option to liquidate, close, or sell subsidiaries
Drake & Scull International's (DSI) shareholders have approved a restructuring plan for the loss-making UAE contractor, including the divestment of shares in Wahat Al Zaweya, and potentially even closing down offices and subsidiaries.
Aside from Tabarak Commercial Investment, which did not vote, investors agreed to sell DSI shares in Abu Dhabi real estate developer Wahat Al Zaweya for $26.1m (AED96m). DSI said its investment in the deal was valued at $19m (AED70m), according to a missive on the Dubai Financial Market.
Construction Week has reached out to Wahat Al Zaweya for a comment on this matter.
The board also agreed to approve an acquisition deal by subsidiary companies Effective International Investment – formerly known as Drake & Scull Investment – and 1881 Advanced Investment. Both firms will acquire Golden Sands Investment.
During DSI’s general assembly meeting on 8 April, shareholders agreed to give the contractor’s board of directors authority to liquidate, close, or sell branches of the company or subsidiaries it owns. Further details on the matter were not revealed in DSI's statement on the Dubai bourse.
Three board members were also appointed to DSI, including Obaid bin Touq Al Marry, Abdulla Al Matrooshi, and Shafiq Abdelhamid. The new members have replaced the departing Mohammad Atatreh, Abdulla Al Gurg, and Mansour Almheiri.
DSI's restructuring efforts come after the contracting outfit posted a net loss of $49.8m (AED183m) in H1 2018.
To support turnaround efforts, the company appointed three senior officials in February 2019, including chief restructuring officer Mike Grant. He was previously involved with restructuring schemes at construction companies such as Al Jaber Contracting and Kuwait’s Investment Dar