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Lulu Retail’s IPO was fully subscribed within an hour of opening its book building process yesterday, with demand exceeding the amount of shares allocated in the offering, Bloomberg reports, citing a document it reviewed. Priced at a range of AED 1.94 to AED 2.04, the IPO could raise up to AED 5.27 bn from its ADX listing, according to a statement (pdf), valuing the company at as much as AED 21.1 bn.
Refresher: Supermarket chain LuLu Group is offering up to a 25% stake (or c.2.6 bn shares) in an IPO on the ADX for its retail business, Lulu Retail. The IPO is set to be the UAE’s biggest this year, with its potential value placing it north of Spinneys’ AED 1.38 bn listing on the DFM in May; NMDC Energy’s AED 3.22 bn IPO in September; edtech firm Alef Education’s AED 1.89 bn IPO ; and ADNH Catering’s AED 864 mn listing earlier this month.
A big chunk has already been covered by cornerstone investors: Lulu Retail signed agreements with Abu Dhabi Pension Fund, Bahrain Mumtalakat, Emirates International Investment Company, and Oman Investment Authority to become cornerstone investors in its IPO. The investors committed to purchasing AED 753 mn worth of shares in the offering, with EIIC alone committing USD 100 mn (AED 367.3 mn). The exact allocation of investments among the other cornerstone investors was not disclosed.
What’s next? Both retail and institutional investors have until next Tuesday, 5 November, to subscribe. The final price will be disclosed on 6 November, after which Lulu Retail’s shares will start trading on 14 November.
ADVISORS- Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Citigroup, Emirates NBD Capital and HSBC Holdings are joint coordinators and bookrunners, while Alrajhi Capital, EFG Hermes UAE, First Abu Dhabi Bank, and Goldman Sachs have been tapped as bookrunners. ADCB, Citigroup, Emirates NBD Capital, HSBC Holdings, and EFG Hermes UAE are also joint lead managers, while FAB and ADCB are joint lead receiving banks, along with our friends at Mashreq, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates Islamic Bank, and Emirates NBD, who are acting as receiving banks. Moelis & Co. is also acting as an independent financial advisor.
More on Lulu Retail: LuLu Retail is the largest pan-GCC full-line retailer, operating over 240 hypermarket, express, and mini-market stores across the six GCC countries and serving over 600k shoppers. The company plans to open 90 new stores across the Gulf over the next five years, focusing on the UAE and Saudi Arabia, its CEO Saifee Rupawala told Bloomberg.
