Middle East 5

Nakheel & Istithmar may merge into $52bn giant

Dubai World, which is selling a stake in port operator DP World, plans to combine its real estate units into a company with $52 billion worth of projects under development, Middle East Economic Digest (MEED) said.
Nakheel, which is developing palm tree-shaped islands off Dubai's coastline, and Istithmar Real Estate would be merged into a single company by the end of the year, MEED said, citing a senior source at Nakheel that it did not name.
The combination would help Nakheel expand its operations abroad, something it has been planning to do for more than three years, MEED said.
Istithmar Real Estate is a division of Istithmar, the Dubai government's investment arm. It owns real estate assets in London, New York, Las Vegas and Cape Town.
It was established in 2003, and currently oversees real estate assets worth over $8 billion.
Dubai World sold a 23 percent stake in DP World, the fourth-largest global container handler, in an initial public offering that raised almost $5 billion this month. (Reuters)

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