Dubai contractor Arabtec Holding said on Tuesday it was unaware of any stake sale agreement between its largest shareholders following reports that the company's former chief executive was about to sell at least part of his stake.

Arabtec "does not have the information" on such a deal, it said in a bourse statement.

Shares in Arabtec jumped 3.7 per cent on Monday following a report that its former chief executive Hasan Ismaik had agreed to sell half of his 27.9 per cent stake in the firm to Abu Dhabi state fund Aabar Investments.

After trading closed, a source close to Ismaik told Reuters that he had agreed in principle to sell at least part of his stake. The source declined to elaborate on the deal's size or price but said it would be announced soon.

Aabar currently owns 18.94 per cent of Arabtec, making it the second-largest shareholder after Ismaik.  - Reuters