Abu Dhabi – Mubasher: Aldar Investment Properties, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aldar Properties, on Wednesday announced signing an acquisition deal with Etihad Airways worth AED 1.2 billion.
Under the deal, the Abu Dhabi-based real estate developer will fully acquire the Etihad Plaza and Etihad Airways Centre, Aldar Investment said in a statement.
In the past, the two properties, along with the Etihad Airways headquarters, were held in three 50/50 joint ventures between Aldar Properties and Etihad.
The acquisition deal also entailed that Etihad Airways will take 100% ownership of its headquarters.
The deal also adds around 789 residential units, 17,940 square metre net leasable area (NLA) of office space, and 11,000 square metre NLA of retail space to Aldar Investments’ portfolio.
“The acquisition of Etihad Plaza and Etihad Airways Centre allows us to drive value as we take these assets into our larger real estate platform, enabling greater capital efficiency, grow our net operating income and ultimately, a free cash flow that can support future dividend growth,” Jassem Saleh Busaibe, newly appointed CEO of Aldar Investment Properties, commented.
This bid will enable Aldar Investments, established in September 2018, to achieve annual net operating income worth AED 100 million.
Moreover, the company expects long leases at the units to provide “solid visibility of income”.
The transaction is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2019.
