Arkan Group rebrands to Emirates Steel Arkan after 2021 merger

The ADX-listed steel and building materials manufacturer changes trading ticker to EMSTEEL from ARKAN

ADX-listed Arkan Group's new ticker and the interim brand reflect the expectation that Emirates Steel will contribute 90 per cent of the group’s annual revenue, the company said. Reuters

Abu-Dhabi listed steel and building materials manufacturer Arkan Group formally adopted Emirates Steel Arkan as its interim brand after the two companies merged last year to create an industrial group with assets of Dh13 billion ($3.54bn).

The company also changed its trading ticker on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange to EMSTEEL from ARKAN, the merged entity said in a statement on Wednesday.

The new ticker and the interim brand “reflect the expectation that Emirates Steel will contribute 90 per cent of the group’s annual revenue”, the statement said.

Emirates Steel and Arkan Building Materials merged in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Arkan acquired Emirates Steel from Senaat, which is part of Abu Dhabi’s holding company ADQ. The deal was announced in May last year and was approved by Arkan’s board in June.

Emirates Steel was transferred to Arkan for a convertible instrument, which automatically converted into 5.1 billion ordinary shares in Arkan at a fixed price of Dh0.798 per share following the deal.

After the conversion, Senaat owns 87.5 per cent of the entire issued share capital of Arkan.

The combined group will play a key role in delivering the UAE’s industrial strategy “Operation 300bn”, Senaat said last year.

It is expected to benefit from the UAE’s post-Covid-19 recovery and a broader pick-up in activity within the GCC construction sector as various government stimulus programmes fuel spending on infrastructure projects.

The UAE aims to more than double the contribution of the industrial sector to the country’s overall economic output to Dh300bn by 2031, from Dh133bn currently, as part of the new industrial strategy announced in March last year.

Emirates Steel Arkan will announce its first-quarter results on May 10, the statement said.

Senaat, which manages more than Dh27.2bn of industrial assets, has holdings in metals, oil and gas services, construction and building materials and food and beverages. In March 2020, ADQ assumed the ownership of Senaat, since when the conglomerate has been consolidating its holdings.

Last January, Senaat’s food and beverage subsidiary Agthia completed its merger with Al Foah, the world’s largest date processing and packaging company. Agthia and Al Foah are both owned by ADQ through Senaat.

In February 2021, Abu Dhabi's National Petroleum Construction Company merged with the National Marine Dredging Company. Before the merger, ADQ held a 32 per cent stake in ADX-listed NMDC and was the majority owner of NPCC through Senaat.

ADQ holds government stakes in a broad portfolio of companies, including Abu Dhabi Airports, Abu Dhabi Ports, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, Etihad Rail, ADX, healthcare operator Seha and media hub TwoFour 54, among others.