Dubai - Mubasher: Shuaa Capital, a leading investment banking and capital markets services provider in the UAE, on Sunday announced that its shareholders have approved the proposed transaction with Abu Dhabi Financial Group (ADFG) at the company’s general meeting.

All shareholders in attendance have voted in favour of the proposed combination, according to a press release.

The transaction, expected to be closed soon, is now subject to final regulatory approvals, Shuaa Capital noted.

Jassim Alseddiqi, CEO of ADFG, said: “We are delighted to have received shareholder approval for this deal and the strong voting in favour of the combination recognizes the compelling strategic rationale behind this deal.”

“We are bringing together two market leaders, ADFG and Shuaa, to create the leading Asset Management and Investment Banking platform in the region. We believe there is an exciting opportunity to create significant value for all shareholders and I look forward to working with the enlarged team to deliver continued growth,” he added.

Under the transaction, Shuaa will issue around 1.470 billion new shares to ADFG’s parent company Abu Dhabi Capital Management, which is the Strategic Investor, in return for the whole issued share capital of ADFG.

Accordingly, the strategic investor will hold a 58% stake of the enlarged entity, the company indicated.

The new Shuaa shares will be subject to a 12-month lock-up from the date of admission, the release highlighted.

The issued share capital of Shuaa will increase to around 2.535,720 billion from 1.065 billion following the admission of the new Shuaa shares.

“The combined entity will remain listed on Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and is expected to be rebranded as “ADFG” with work on a full integration plan underway,” the release noted.

Last Thursday, Shuaa Capital revealed that its shareholders have approved the proposed business combination with ADFG.