Qannas shares suspended pending major deal – Qannas has entered into conditional agreements to acquire a substantial portfolio of investment assets from a consortium of third party vendors. The independent directors of Qannas (Chris Ward and Richard Prosser) believe that the deal is a compelling opportunity to significantly enhance and broaden the existing investment portfolio of Qannas with the aim of achieving greater scale and enhanced diversification, which is intended in turn to boost its liquidity and investor appeal.
The portfolio includes shareholdings in a number of publicly traded GCC-focused companies, in sectors such as real estate, maritime shipping services and insurance. There’s also two plots of land that have been zoned for commercial or residential development and units of an open ended fund that Qannas is currently invested in.
The value of this portfolio that is implied by the deal is about AED 1.5bn (equivalent to $417m). This contrasts with a market value of as at 31 July 2019 of about AED 2.2bn (approximately $600m).
The portfolio comes with associated liabilities of approximately AED 1.1bn ($298m).
Qannas estimates that it will issue approximately 196 million new ordinary shares to fund the deal, although this depends on what Qannas’ net asset value as of 31 July 2019 was.
Net, the deal allows Qannas the opportunity to buy a portfolio with an estimated net asset value of approximately AED 440 million ($120m) on what the directors believe are highly attractive terms. They also say the deal and the subsequent balance of assets is consistent with the investment strategy and policy.
Further announcements will be made in due course.
QIL : Qannas shares suspended pending major deal
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