MADRID: A sovereign wealth fund owned by the government of the booming Gulf emirate of Dubai said Thursday it had been given more time to go through the books of Spain s second-biggest property firm Colonial with a view to a possible bid. The Investment Corp of Dubai (ICD) said in a statement it had been conceded an extension on its period of bid exclusivity by Colonial shareholders until Feb. 27. The original period of exclusivity, agreed on Jan. 28, expired on Tuesday. Shares in Colonial have slumped since the end of 2007 on concerns over the group s debts, falling property sales and the international credit crunch that has cooled the housing market, prompting takeover speculation. Predictions that a bid for the firm will be made increased further after chairman Luis Portillo, one of the company s main shareholders, was ousted in a wide-reaching board reshuffle in December.
US conglomerate General Electric said on Feb. 1 that it was suspending a bid for Colonial because it could not gain access to the company s books.
Shares in Colonial closed down 4.02 percent to 1.67 euros on a day when the main Ibex-35 index rose 0.71 percent to 13,173 points. -AFP
