Dubai Investments buys Al Mal Capital

Dubai Investments PJSC, the company with interests in real estate and manufacturing, will buy a 60 percent stake in investment bank Al Mal Capital PSC as part of a plan to boost financial services assets.

The company will pay about 150 million dirhams ($41 million) for the stake and expects to complete the purchase by March 15, Chief Executive Officer Khalid Jassim Kalban said in a phone interview from Dubai today. Al Mal will help manage the about 3 billion dirhams of Dubai Investments’ financial assets, some of which is currently done by third parties, he said.

The company said it is acquiring Dubai-based Al Mal to “strengthen” its asset mix, according to a statement posted on the website of the Dubai Financial Market. The property segment made up 58 percent of Dubai Investments’ assets, investments 22 percent and manufacturing 20 percent, according to its nine-month results.

Dubai Investments’ shares jumped 14 percent, the most since Dec. 21, to 2.48 dirhams at the close. The emirate’s benchmark stock index soared 4.5 percent, also the most in six weeks.

Al Mal Capital’s activities span investment banking, asset management and investment intermediary services, according to its website. The company has assets of about 500 million dirhams and equity of about 260 million, Kalban said.

Dubai Investments owns almost 40 subsidiaries and joint ventures including in construction materials, information technology and financial investments.-Bloomberg