Abu Dhabi-based Al Qudra Holding, which in March dropped plans to sell shares in what would have been the UAE's second-largest initial public offering, said on Tuesday it had divested its chairman of authority.

"Salah Al-Shamsi is still the chairman of Al Qudra but all authority is transferred to the new CEO," said a company spokesman, who did not want to be identified.

Qudra appointed Mahmood Ibrahim Al Mahmood as chief executive officer in March, just as the company was preparing to raise about $1 billion in the IPO.

Qudra, which has 30 units in industries including real estate and infrastructure, said on February 23 it planned to offer 55 per cent of the company in the first week of March, initially looking to raise Dh3.7 billion.

Then, on March 2, it said it dropped the plan "given recent discussions around the revised companies' law, allowing for UAE institutions to offer less than 55 per cent through an initial public offering."

At a meeting organised by IPO adviser Shuaa Capital on Februaary 23, two investors expressed disappointment with a presentation Shamsi gave, saying they would not invest in the company.-Reuters