Qatar developer UDC shareholders OK strategic shareholder

Qatar developer UDC shareholders OK strategic shareholder

Shareholders of Qatar's United Development Company (UDC) approved on Tuesday a government-backed strategic shareholder to take a $440 million stake in the builder of the man-made Pearl island project, the company said in a statement.

February 29, 2012 1:37 by Reuters

The state-run Pension and Social Insurance Authority will take a 1.6 billion riyal ($440 million) stake in the company, acquiring 112 million shares, or 33.2 percent of the builder, the statement said.

“It will give strength to the company, not only because we will have more liquidity, but because we will have a big support. We welcomed them from the minute they requested to join us,” UDC’s Chairman Hussain Alfardan told reporters after a shareholders’ meeting.

Last month, the Pension and Social Insurance Authority withdrew an offer to take up 80 million new shares after UDC objected to its demand to join before the developer’s annual general meeting, when bonus shares would be distributed to existing shareholders.

The company will distribute an additional 64.4 million bonus shares, increasing the company’s capital to 2.3 billion riyals, the statement said.

UDC, listed in 2003, has interests in real estate, infrastructure, manufacturing and hospitality. Its flagship project, the Pearl Qatar, is a mixed-used development on an artificial island off the Gulf Arab state’s coast. ($1=3.638 Qatari riyals) (Reporting By Regan Doherty; Editing by Firouz Sedarat) *image from gluckman.com