Oman’s OQ raised OMR 188 mn (c.USD 489 mn) in its initial public offering of its methanol unit OQ Base Industries, according to a statement published last week. The IPO saw a 49% stake sold at the top end of the price range at OMR 0.111 (c.USD 0.29) per share, valuing the firm at USD 1 bn.
(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background and outside sources.)
What we know: The offering attracted significant demand, with institutional and retail investors committing to OMR 387 mn, Bloomberg reported last week. Floated shares will begin trading on the Muscat Stock Exchange around mid-December.
REMEMBER- The company priced its IPO at a range of between 106 bps (USD 0.28) and 111 bps (USD 0.29) per share for its offering of a 49% stake – around 1.7 bn shares – last month. Gulf Investment Corp, US-based Falcon Investments, Saudi Omani Investment Company, and Oman’s Social Protection Fund had previously committed to picking up about 30% of the offer as anchor investors.
ADVISORS- Bank Dhofar, Bank Muscat, and Morgan Stanley were acting as issue managers and joint global coordinators, and BSF Capital and Kamco Investment Co. were acting as joint bookrunners.
REMEMBER- OQ is on an IPO drive: This IPO follows OQ’s recent IPO of its exploration and production arm, which raised around USD 2 bn, making it Oman’s largest-ever IPO despite initial falling on the debut.