Dubai Investments Seeks to Circumvent Listing Rule in Unit IPO - BusinessWeek

Dubai Investments PJSC is considering listing a 30 percent stake in unit M’Sharie LLC on Nasdaq Dubai and trading the shares on the Dubai Financial Market PJSC to circumvent a regulatory rule, the chief executive officer said.

Dubai Investments, which owns stakes in more than 40 companies, is seeking to sell shares in private equity unit M’Sharie in an initial public offering by the end of June 2011, Khalid Bin Kalban said. The company wants to trade the shares on the DFM because of higher liquidity, he said. DFM requires companies to sell a minimum 55 percent stake and Nasdaq Dubai has a 25 percent minimum listing rule.

This is “the only option we have because of the regulations’ shortcomings,” Bin Kalban, 52, said in an interview in Dubai. “We have assurances after meetings with DFM and Nasdaq Dubai that it’s possible.”