Aabar stake only 20.76%

Abu Dhabi government-controlled Aabar Investments had increased its stake in Arabtec, the UAE's biggest builder, to 20.76 percent by May 10, according to a regulatory filing submitted to the Dubai Financial Market. The filing appeared to contradict a report in Alrroya newspaper, which cited Khadem Al Qubaisi, chairman of both companies, as saying Aabar's stake in Arabtec had inflated to 53 percent after units of Aabar had built up their stake in the construction company. International Petroleum Investment Company-owned Aabar, which dropped a US$1.74bn offer for Arabtec two years ago, held a 10.5 percent share in Arabtec before the latest stake increase. Aabar holds stakes in German car maker Daimler AG, commodities trader Glencore, Italy's UniCredit SpA and Richard Branson's space company Virgin Galactic. Neither Arabtec CFO Ziad Makhzoumi nor CEO Riad Kamal could be reached for comment today. Arabtec’s share price had increased by nearly 5 percent this morning at the time of publication.