Dubai, June 19: Speaking at a Press conference, held on June 18 in Dubai, Wael Allan, CEO of Drake & Scull International (DSI), said that Tabarak Investment has become majority owner of DSI by acquiring the majority of the shares previously owned by Khaldoun Tabari, former CEO & Vice-Chairman of DSI.

Speaking on the development, Allan said: “It is my great pleasure to present this very important milestone in our turnaround journey. We are now confident of wiping out our earlier debts, which amounted to AED 2.44 billion. We are pleased to see Tabarak Investment reaffirm their unwavering commitment for us. With their unyielding support, we will aggressively continue to execute our turnaround strategy and undertake key business transformations and strategic initiatives in collaboration with all our stakeholders.”

He further added: “Since I have taken over as CEO, we have appointed a new management team, and they will sustain the changes and advance in the new phase of financial and operational recovery. We will be judged by our results and clients.”

Elaborating on the acquisition, Ahmed Kilani, CEO of Tabarak Investment, said: “This deal is a voice of confidence in the DSI brand and their longstanding track record, particularly in the UAE MEP sector. We have proposed to invest AED 500 million, based on a recommendation made by PwC, which will first assist in eradicating the accumulated losses of AED 1.71 billion. If the company needs additional assistance, we shall work it out.”

On the challenges faced by DSI, Allan added: “As you are aware, the construction business has gone through challenging times, and we have certainly gone through a cost optimisation exercise. The turmoil certainly distracted us, but now our clients can rest assured that we are back on track, and we will deliver. The future is optimistic.”

Speaking on the initiatives undertaken by DSI, Allan said: “Our current focus is to finish our backlog of projects in the country and across the GCC region. We are close to completion of a wastewater treatment project and two MEP projects in the UAE. We are also looking at capitalising on the upcoming Expo 2020.”

Providing an update on the debt negotiations between DSI and Saudi Aramco, Allan said: “We are still in discussions with Aramco in regard to the debt amounting to 1 billion SR. We are at different stages and having a high level of engagement with them to sort out these issues.”