Dubai's Emaar plans $2.5 billion listing of shopping mall unit

BY ANDREW TORCHIA AND DAVID FRENCH    http://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – Dubai’s Emaar Properties said it would sell up to 25 percent of its shopping mall and retailing unit in a public offer expected to raise 8 to 9 billion dirhams ($2.18-$2.45 billion), making it one of the region’s largest equity offers since 2008.

The proceeds “will be primarily distributed as dividend” to Emaar shareholders, Dubai’s biggest listed real estate developer said in a statement on Saturday, without giving a timetable for the offer. The shares to be sold will come from the unit’s current equity.

Dubai-listed Emaar’s flagship mall is the Dubai Mall, one of the largest in the world, which it says attracted more than 75 million visitors in 2013. The company also built the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world’s tallest building. More info