Aldar, Sorouh Dealings “Transparent”

Abu Dhabi-based property developers Aldar and Sorouh, who recently announced that they are studying a possible merger, are carrying on proceedings in a transparent manner, a senior official from the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI) has said.

“In the case of Aldar and Sorouh, I think it [the dealing] was properly done, in my opinion,” said Khalfan Saeed Al Kaabi, first vice chairman and head of Economic Committee at ADCCI. “And they only have the intention. It has not yet been finalized, and they are working on it and doing the due diligence. And I think that is in line with corporate governance,” he told Gulf Business at the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Corporate Governance Conference.

“I think there was enough transparency,” he added.

Earlier this week, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange denied reports that it was conducting a trade inquiry linked to the announcement of the merger.

“The exchange does not perform any investigations unless it was highly confident that trading laws have been violated, which did not happen in the case of Aldar and Sorouh share trading,” the bourse’s CEO Rashed Al Baloushi said in a statement.

A report by The National had earlier claimed that the exchange began an investigation after both the companies displayed similar share movements on two consecutive days.

The two stocks rose eight per cent to Dhs1.24 each on the day prior to the merger announcement, and both again increased by 9.8 per cent to Dhs1.34 the next day.