Engaged in negotiations with creditors to restructure debt pile, Dubai Group is divesting its businesses in a bid to pay back $10bn debt, which it sustained during the financial crisis of 2008.
Specializing in liability and credit card products, the acquired entity has a 4.5% share of the UAE’s credit card market and has a work force of 464 staff.
Commenting on the deal, Dubai Group chief executive Fadel al-Ali said the sale is a strategic decision for Dubai Group and is part of its stated plan to sell down assets, in order to support broader ongoing restructuring process.
"Since we launched the business in 2007, Dubai First has performed well, even during the turbulent business cycles of recent years, and has built a solid and sustainable book of business" Fadel al-Ali added.
The firm has already disposed of some of its smaller assets in the restructuring, including its stake in Oman’s Bank Muscat, shares in Malaysia’s Bank Islam, among others.
EFG-Hermes served as sole financial advisor and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer acted as legal advisor to Dubai Group on the transaction.
