Aldar board to undergo changes

Aldar Properties chairman Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh is stepping down after six years

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The board of Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi's largest development company, is undergoing major changes.

Ahmed Ali al Sayegh, who has served as chairman since the company's launch in 2005, did not file papers for a new term. Four other current board members are also absent from the list of nominees, according to a company filing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

An Aldar spokesman declined comment.

The board reorganisation is the latest in a series of moves during the past six months.

In November, Sami Asad was elevated from chief operating officer to chief executive, replacing John Bullough, who retired from the company.

Two months later, Aldar announced a funding plan under which the Abu Dhabi Government would buy Dh10.9 billion (US$2.96bn) of the company's infrastructure assets on Yas Island, Dh5.5bn of residential units and land, and issue a Dh2.8bn convertible bond.

"The impairment recognition reflects the adverse conditions that have affected the real estate market but is an important step in allowing Aldar to achieve long-term sustainable growth," Mr al Sayegh said at the time.

In February, the company reported a Dh12.65bn loss for last year after impairment and fair value charges.

Aldar shareholders will meet on April 21 at the Yas Hotel to elect a new board and chairman.

The nominees for the board include three current board members: Ali Eid al Mehairi, the executive director of Mubadala Infrastructure; Dr Sultan Ahmed al Jaber, the chief executive of the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, which controls Masdar; and Khalifa Sultan al Suwaidi, the executive director of the Direct Investments Department at the Abu Dhabi Investment Council.

Three of the four new nominees for the board have ties to Mubadala Development, a strategic investment company owned by the Abu Dhabi Government. Mubadala is the largest shareholder in the company, controlling 27.7 per cent of the shares, according to public filings.

The new nominees include Carlos Obeid, the chief financial officer of Mubadala Development; Mansour Mohamed al Mulla, an adviser at Structured Finance and Capital Markets, a Mubadala subsidiary; Saeed Mohamed al Mazrouei, the director of the debt management office at the Abu Dhabi Department of Finance; and Martin Lee Edelman, an adviser to Mubadala Development.

Aldar is responsible for some of the capital's biggest projects, including Ferrari World, Al Raha Beach and Central Market.