ADQ group company (Senaat) to combine Al Foah with Agthia
ABU DHABI/October 6: Abu Dhabi’s ADQ Group seems to be in the process of consolidating its presence in diversified sectors at a time when business deals have slowed down following the COVOD 19 onslaught.
The group that made news two days ago by announcing its plans to open a new digital bank by procuring the licence of the now-defunct First Gulf Bank (FGB) from First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has now moved on to increase its hold in the ADX-listed Agthia, by increasing the stake held by its group entity, Senaat that already holds 51 per cent.
As per the plans chalked out, Senaat, one of the UAE’s largest industrial investment holding companies, would transfer the full ownership of Al Foah, UAE’s leading producer of dates, to Agthia, which is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX).
Agthia, which generated a total revenue of AED1.09 billion for the first half ending June 30, 2020, reported a net profit of AED42.97 million compared with AED83.34 million for the same period in the earlier year, representing a decline of more than 48 per cent.
In turn, Agthia would issue to Senaat a convertible instrument, creating 120 million ordinary shares in Agthia upon closing the transaction at a price of AED3.75 per share, which will work out a valuation of AED450 million for Al Foah.
In exchange, Senaat would receive additional 8.17 per cent stake in Agthia to take Senaat’s ownership in Agthia up to 59.17 per cent.
However, shareholders of Agthia need to give the green signal to the deal, which will have to be further approved by the regulators too.
Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, CEO of ADQ, hailed the proposed transaction as the integration of two leading operators in their respective categories that will create a national F&B champion.
Organic date farm not part of deal
However, it has been agreed that Al Foah’s organic date farm in Al Ain would not be part of the deal. “The combined entity would focus on strengthening core activities of processing, sales, and marketing, and would plan to continue sourcing produce from Al Foah’s existing network of farmers,” an official statement added.
