Dubal and Emal in big merger

Abu Dhabi and Dubai have joined forces to merge their aluminium manufacturing facilities into the Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), which will become the world’s fifth-largest company.

It all happened after Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Company acquired a 50 per cent stake in Dubai Aluminium (Dubal), based in Jabel Ali.

Mubadala, which jointly owns with Dubal an Abu Dhabi-based smelter Emirates Aluminium (Emal) located in Khalifa Industrial Zone in Taweelah, purchased the stake to expand its market share and in return got a ‘win win’ deal to benefit the economy.

With this new development in aluminium sector, Mubadala and Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) would have equal share of 50 per cent in the Emirates Global Aluminium, which will look for local as well as international expansions. The agreement signed on Monday unifies the Jebel Ali and Taweelah smelter assets, as well as interests in Guinea Alumina Corporation and Cameroon Alumina Limited. The new company will start its operations within the first half of 2014.

At a signing ceremony, attended by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Managing Director of Mubadala Development Company and Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani, Chief Executive Officer of ICD signed the agreement. Federal ministers, top government officials and other dignitaries attended the ceremony.

“It was only natural,” said Riad Mattar, chief executive officer of Global Minds, an economic consultancy in Abu Dhabi. Mattar said there were discussions going on since many years between the officials of the two emirates to merge the two aluminium giants to benefit from the economies of scale.

He said the merger, which was the first of many to come in other fields, will only benefit the UAE economy and in near future will create more acquisitions and business opportunities.

Abdullah J. M. Khalid Al Kalban, president and chief executive officer of Dubai Aluminium said the joint venture has led to a $15 billion enterprise, with a joint production capacity of 2.4 million metric tonnes per annum.

After the acquisition, the new company Emirates Global Aluminium will be a jointly-held, equal-ownership company which will integrate the businesses of Dubai Aluminium and Emirates Aluminium.

The new firm, which is an efficient manufacturer of aluminium, will save from sourcing the raw materials, logistics, shipping and others, said Al Kalban. He added “we will have synergies on finance, human resources, and operations also.”

The new company will look to expand along the value chain, from aluminium smelting to alumina refining and bauxite mining overseas.

Given its scale, Emirates Global Aluminium will also continue to attract downstream manufacturing and ancillary businesses related to aluminium smelting and alumina refining as it grows, thereby indirectly creating additional jobs.

M.R. Raghu, Head of Research at Kuwait Financial Centre or Markaz, in Kuwait City, called it a “smart move at a time when global businesses are restructuring and resizing.” He said “Dubai has always pioneered creation of world class entities like Emirates and creating such scale oriented companies can help extend that momentum. This is especially true in an increasingly “new normal” world where muted global growth will strain demand and in this environment economies of scale, pricing flexibility and global market capture can bring enormous upside to an economy,” Raghu said.

haseeb@khaleejtimes.com