Dubai Group Unit Sells 41.1% ONIC Stake To Oman Fund

Oman Investment Fund, the Gulf state’s sovereign wealth fund, announced that it has acquired a 41.13 per cent stake in the Oman National Investment Corporation (ONIC) from Dubai Insurance Group, a subsidiary of Dubai Group.

The stake represents 71,323,988 ONIC shares, the companies said in a statement.

ONIC, listed on the Muscat Securities Market, is a diversified financial services holding company in Oman.

Fadel Al Ali, acting CEO, Dubai Group said: “This is a strategic decision for DIG and is part of our stated plan to sell down assets in order to support our broader ongoing restructuring process.”

Dubai Group, the financial arm of the Dubai Holding, is in the process of restructuring $10 billion of debts. It owes $6 billion of that to creditor banks and according to reports, is only a “few months away” from finalising a deal with them. The remaining $4 billion is owed to shareholders.

In September last year, the company sold its Turkish insurance arm, and late last year, it also cut half its staff of about 30 people, sources told Reuters.

Dubai Group still has a 14.7 per cent stake in Oman’s biggest lender, Bank Muscat.