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Initial public offerings on the Tadawul’s main market raised USD 2 bn in 4Q 2023, according to Ernst & Young’s MENA IPO Eye: Q4 2023 report (pdf). A total of 14 IPOs split between the main and parallel markets accounted for 41% of the USD 4.9 bn in total IPO proceeds raised in the MENA region in 4Q. MENA had 19 IPOs in 4Q of last year.
The breakdown of 4Q listings: Egypt-born oil and gas drilling company Ades Holding raised USD 1.2 bn on the main market, followed by SAL Saudi Logistics Services with USD 700 mn on the main market, while the remaining 12 listings raised USD 140 mn on the parallel market Nomu. Separately, Almujtama Alraida Medical went public on Nomu through a direct listing, meaning it did not raise fresh capital.
The sectors driving the charge in 4Q: Energy companies accounted for 36% of all listings in the Kingdom, followed by transportation (29%) and healthcare at 10%.
A LOOK AHEAD-
The domestic IPO market is still going strong in 1Q 2024 with regional broadcaster MBC debuting on Tadawul last month in a USD 222 IPO.
Offerings set to wrap up this quarter: Avalon Pharma has wrapped up institutional and retail subscriptions and is expected to allocate the offer shares to investors on Thursday, 8 February. Avalon is expected to reign the bell this quarter.
LuLu + Aramco in the pipeline for this year? LuLu Group International is shopping around for bankers for a potential USD 1 bn dual-listing on Tadawul and Abu Dhabi’s ADX in 2H 2024. Aramco also could pull the trigger on what would again be one of the world’s largest-ever share sales as the oil giant looks to revive plans to sell shares in a USD 10 bn secondary offering.
And on Nomu: Kinan Real Estate is set to take to market 3.6 mn shares — good for a 3% stake in the company — with qualified investors expected to place their orders from 25 February to 29 February, prospectus (pdf). This is going to be a secondary sale on Nomu, where the proceeds will be distributed amongst the selling shareholders. Substantial shareholders will have to abide by a 12-months lock-up period from the start of trading where they can’t make any transaction on their shares during that period. The company has hired Saudi Fransi Capital as the lead manager and the financial advisor on the transaction, while STAT is the legal advisor and EY is acting as auditor.
