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Dubai Holding says sold Axiom stake in Mannai deal | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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DUBAI, (Reuters) – Dubai Holding, the conglomerate owned by the ruler of Dubai, sold a 14 percent stake in Axiom Telecom as part of Qatar Mannai Corp’s stake buy in the Dubai-based mobile phone retailer, it said on Thursday.

Axiom sold a 35 percent stake to Mannai Corp last week after aborting an initial public offering in 2010, when it planned to list on the Nasdaq Dubai exchange by selling up to one-third of its shares.

Dubai Holding’s unit, Emirates International Telecommunications LLC (EIT), will retain a 26 percent stake in Axiom after the sale, it said, but did not provide a value for the deal. It said the return on the sale was “attractive”.

“It is our view that by maintaining our 26 percent stake in Axiom, EIT can benefit from the company’s continued growth,” said Deepak Padmanabhan, chief executive officer of EIT.

EIT also owns a 35 percent stake in state-controlled Tunisie Telecom which cancelled plans for an initial public offering.

Mannai Corp, which is listed in Qatar but is not on the main index , is active in various sectors including technology, engineering and retail.

Dubai Holding holds a substantial portfolio of brands in the property and hospitality sectors, organised under three main groupings: Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group, Dubai International Capital and Dubai Group.

It is among the matrix of firms badly hit by the financial crisis and most of its units have been in discussion with banks to extend liabilities and restructure debt.