Talabat’s DFM IPO fully subscribed on day one: Delivery Hero’s Middle East unit Talabat saw its orderbook fully covered “minutes after the books opened” yesterday, setting it up to raise up to USD 1.5 bn from its upcoming listing on the DFM, Bloomberg reports. Retail investors have until Wednesday, 27 November, to get their orders in, with the subscription period for institutional investors wrapping the following day.

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REMEMBERDelivery Hero plans to allocate 95% of the IPO shares to institutional investors, while 5% will be allocated to retail investors.

Who’s in? Cornerstone investors, including UAE Strategic Investment Fund, Abu Dhabi Pension Fund, and Emirates International Investment Co, committed around USD 250 mn in shares, the company said in a statement (pdf). The UAE Strategic Investment Fund contributed the largest portion, with USD 140 mn, while Abu Dhabi Pension Fund committed USD 60 mn, and Emirates International Investment Co pledged USD 50 mn.

Background: Delivery Hero will sell a 15% stake in its Middle East unit Talabat on the DFM at AED 1.5-1.6 a piece. The top end of the price range values the company at USD 10.2 bn.

The final price will be disclosed on 29 November, after which the company’s shares will start trading on 10 December, the statement reads.

A strategic play to lock in strong post-IPO performance? Setting a low price range — 40% less than that of Delivery Hero’s non-European peers, Bloomberg wrote — could reflect the company’s “eagerness to preserve the post-IPO price performance,” Bryan Garnier equity analyst Clement Genelot said, adding that Delivery Hero’s dual strategy involves securing capital to strengthen its balance sheet, while nudging the market to revise its valuation for the company as a whole.

REMEMBER- Recent IPOs in the UAE had lackluster market debuts, with Lulu Retail’s shares falling as much as 2.5% on their first day of trading before paring back losses to settle at the set share price, while Abu Dhabi-based edtech firm Alef Education saw its shares drop 18% on its first day of trading.

ADVISORS- Delivery Hero appointed Emirates NBD Capital, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan as joint coordinators and bookrunners, with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), Barclays, EFG-Hermes UAE, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), Goldman Sachs, ING, and UniCredit also acting as joint bookrunners. Emirates NBD is the lead receiving bank, while ADCB, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Al Maryah Community Bank, Wio, Emirates Islamic Bank, FAB, and our friends at Mashreq are also acting as receiving banks.

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