Arabtec's former chief executive Hasan Ismaik has agreed in principle to sell at least part of his stake in the Dubai-based construction firm to Abu Dhabi state fund Aabar Investments, a source close to Ismaik said on Monday.

"Ismaik has finalised the sale of a stake in Arabtec to Aabar," the source told Reuters, declining to elaborate on the size of the stake or the price.

"The deal will be announced soon," he added.

News channel Al Arabiya reported earlier in the day that Ismaik had agreed to sell half of his holdings at a price of between Dh5 ($1.36) and Dh5.5 ($1.49) per share; it quoted unnamed sources.

Arabtec declined to comment on the report.

Ismaik, who abruptly resigned from Arabtec in June but remains the biggest shareholder in the company, had said earlier that he was in talks with Aabar to sell part of his 27.90 per cent stake.

Arabtec's shares rose 3.7 per cent to Dh4.77 ($1.29) on Dubai's bourse on Monday. Aabar is already the second biggest shareholder in Arabtec with 18.94 per cent stake.-Reuters