In a deal similar to one that led to the Dubai ports furor in the US earlier this year, Dubai International Capital has purchased for US$1.24 billion Doncasters Group Ltd, a private British aerospace manufacturer that works on sensitive weapons programs such as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).

The administration of US President George W Bush is conducting a security review of the takeover, and then it will present its findings to Congress, where many of the same factions that

expressed concern and outrage over the ports deal are beginning to grumble about the Doncasters takeover.

Democrats and Republicans alike lambasted the Bush administration’s approval of the sale of British P&O Line to Dubai Ports World, since it would place terminal operations of six US ports in foreign hands - worse, in the hands of a government that many in Congress labeled as being an unreliable partner in the “war on terrorism”. The failed ports deal forced Washington to postpone talks with the United Arab Emirates on a free-trade agreement. The proposed pact is part of a greater US goal to create a Middle East Free Trade Area by 2013.
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While not yet garnering much attention in the media, certain Congress members have challenged the proposed Doncasters deal. Two members of the House Armed Services Committee, Democrats John Barrow and Ike Skelton, have raised questions about national security.

“I’m not against foreigners investing in this country as long as we don’t sell them something we are not supposed to sell them,” Barrow said. “But I am concerned about selling off our national-security infrastructure. We are selling off the military-industrial complex bit by bit.”
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WASHINGTON D.C — A US commission has finalised examination of Dubai International Capital’s bid for acquiring UK-based Doncasters Group, according to UAE Economy Minister.

Shaikha Lubna Al Qasimi has revealed that the US commission considering bids for acquisition of US firms had ended a 45-day scrutiny into the $1.224 billion bid by Dubai International Capital LLC (DIC), the international investment arm of Dubai Holding, to acquire UK-based Doncasters Group limited.

“The US commission will report its findings to the US President for taking a final decision within 15 days, according to the US law,” Shaikha Lubna said in a telephone conversation with Wam from Atlanta, Georgia.
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Shaikha Lubna said she had talked over the phone with Congressman John Barrow, a Georgia Democrat opposing the deal. “I talked to him because one of Doncasters’ companies is based in his constituency,”she said.

Al Qasimi said Barrow, who had some reservations about the deal, visited the company last week.
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While in Atlanta, Shaikha Lubna met with a number of state officials. She also met the black leader, ambassador Andrew Young, who expressed his support of the deal. “Ambassador Young has lauded the UAE’s pioneering role in the Middle East region, and urged leading economic figures to back the deal,” she said.
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