Al Habtoor Group plays down IPO reports

UAE-based Al Habtoor Group has played down reports that it is closer to an initial public offering.

Yesterday Bloomberg cited the company’s vice-chairman and chief executive Mohammed Al Habtoor as saying the company had all the documents ready to go public. “All that we need to do is to update all the information to include revenue from the recently completed Al Habtoor City project,” he was quoted as saying.

However, the group, which has interests in the hotel, automotive and real estate sectors, has since said it does not “anticipate taking the company public in the foreseeable future”, according to Gulf News.

The group has been considering a listing since 2000 and postponed an IPO in December 2012 because it did not see sufficient opportunities to invest the proceeds.

“We continually review our options with regards to our future strategy. We have been considering an IPO for a number of years, and this situation remains unchanged,” company spokesperson Noura Badawi was quoted as saying.

She added: “we constantly update our records, as part of this ongoing process.”

The group has recently bought hotels in the United Kingdom, Austria and Hungary and is considering further deal in large European cities, Al Habtoor was quoted by Bloomberg as saying.

At the end of last year the company said it was allocating Dhs 2bn to overseas investments in 2016.

Read: Dubai’s Al Habtoor group plans Dhs 2bn overseas hospitality investments in 2016

It also revealed plans for a mixed-use mega project in Cairo in January.

Read: Dubai’s Al Habtoor reveals plans to build mega mixed-use project in Cairo