Abu Dhabi has appointed four banks to advise on the proposed merger of developers Aldar Properties and Sorouh Real Estate, according to local reports.

The Abu Dhabi government has picked US’ Goldman Sachs and National Bank of Abu Dhabi to advise a steering committee to oversee the merger.

The two real estate companies have appointed US’ Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse to advise on the planned merger, which was announced back in March.  

The merger is worth $15bn. The Abu Dhabi government has so far spent more than $10bn to support Aldar.

Both Aldar and Sorouh declined to comment.

News of developments in the merger boosted the stock market. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) closed 0.10 per cent higher on 22 May at 2,471.05 points, following a 3.5 per cent rise the previous day.

The real estate index of the bourse gained 3.47 per cent and the share price of Aldar rose to AED1.11, up 3.74 per cent reaching a two-week high. Shares of Sorouh gained 3.88 per cent to AED1.07.