Agility Global shares pop on the first day of trading: Shares in Kuwaiti logistics outfit Agility subsidiary Agility Global closed up 327% on their trading debut on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) on Thursday, according to market data released on Thursday. Trading under the ticker AGILITY, the company had set the reference price for its shares at AED 0.37 apiece. Agility Global’s shares closed at AED 1.58 apiece, giving it a market cap of AED 16.46 bn (USD 4.5 bn).

REMEMBER- Agility received approval from the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) to move forward with a technical listing of Agility Global, its operations and assets management unit, on the Abu Dhabi bourse last week. Agility’s board approved last month an in-kind dividend distribution of some KWD 800 mn (USD 2.6 bn), representing 49% of the issued share capital of Agility Global. Following the distribution, Agility — which is listed both on the DFM and the Kuwait Stock Exchange — will remain the controlling shareholder with a 51% stake in Agility Global.

Technical listing? A technical listing means the company’s shares have been made tradeable on the bourse, without an offering of equity (primary or secondary) arranged by existing shareholders prior to the listing. This simply makes it possible for shareholders pre-transaction to start offering shares for sale to other investors via the ADX.

What Agility Global does: The wholly owned unit manages company operations and assets for Agility subsidiary Menzies Aviation, the company’s investment in Tristar Transport, operations of Agility Logistics Parks outside of Kuwait, and the DSV investment — which Agility’s Global Integrated Logistics business (GIL) had acquired back in 2021.

The IPO is to promote growth and expand access to more capital markets: The listing of Agility Global “crystalizes the value of assets for shareholders and gives the company access to additional capital markets to fund future growth,” Agility Vice Chairman Tarek Sultan commented previously. The listing enables global and regional investors a chance to invest in Agility and for existing shareholders in Kuwait to be rewarded, he added in a statement.

Advisors: Agility tapped UAE-based BHM Capital as a liquidity provider for its shares, the company said in an ADX disclosure (pdf). Middle East and UK-based international law firm Meysan acted as the legal advisor to Agility for the listing of the shares on the ADX, according to a statement.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *