Dubai's Emirates Refreshments reveals new name, investment focus

Dubai-based Emirates Refreshments has announced a raft of major changes, including a name change and the transfer of its flagship brand, as well as approving authorised capital at AED 600 million ($163 million).

The company, which will now be called Emirates Reem Investment Company, will transfer its trademark Jeema, a mineral water first sourced in Dubai enclave Hatta in 1980, to an unnamed company, and announced a range of new company activities, from real estate investment to mining, healthcare and farming as well as broader investment activities.

The decisions were approved at the bottled water and soft drink bottling company’s general assembly, held in Dubai yesterday, along with the approval of authorised capital of AED 600 million.

The approval will allow the company to further raise, if required, issued paid up capital in the future, and increase the company’s issued and paid up capital by AED 270 million to AED 300 million, for a share issuance price of AED 1 per share, it said in a statement to Dubai Financial Market (DFM).

The statement said: “Existing shareholders may also apply for additional new issued shares which will be allocated in the event that any unsubscribed new shares remain, either as a result of the unallocated fractional entitlements to new shares, or the failure by owners of rights to exercise their rights in full to subscribe for new shares.”

The company will use net proceeds raised from the rights issue to support future business growth, through expanding business segments and acquiring companies that operate in different sectors as well as working capital needs, the statement continued.

Diversification was also on the company’s meeting agenda, with company activities to now include: Real estate investment, both in the UAE and abroad, construction and facility management, investment in industrial and mining activities, food industry and farming as well as non-alcoholic drink manufacturing and bottling, healthcare investment and company or entity investment.

The company also approved the right of the chairman of the board to implement ordinary or special resolutions for applying to relevant authorities to issue shares or increase share capital.

Emirates Refreshment’s most recent financial reports show a comprehensive loss of AED 4.66 million for the first nine months of 2020, down from a loss of AED 8.24 million in 2019.

(Writing by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by Daniel Luiz)

( imogen.lillywhite@refinitiv.com )

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