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LuLu Group’s retail arm, Lulu Retail ramped up the size of its IPO amid heightened demand, offering up to a 30% stake in the company, up from an initial 25%, according to a statement (pdf). This decision came after strong demand from international, regional, and local investors, with all additional shares allocated to institutional investors.
Refresher: Initially, the supermarket giant aimed to list a 25% stake on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). Key cornerstone investors, including Abu Dhabi Pension Fund, Bahrain Mumtalakat, Emirates International Investment Company, and Oman Investment Authority, committed around AED 753 mn in shares, with the IPO fully subscribed within an hour of books opening last week.
Another cornerstone investor joined the party: Saudi Arabia’s Masarrah Invest is investing AED 250 mn in the IPO, bringing total investments from cornerstone investors to AED 1 bn.
No changes in the timeline or price: The book-building process began last Monday, 28 October, with the subscription period for both retail and institutional investors set to conclude today. Lulu is holding the price range steady at AED 1.9 to AED 2.04. The final share price will be disclosed tomorrow, and Lulu Retail expects to start trading on ADX by 14 November.
The IPO is set to be the UAE’s biggest this year. With the expanded offering, Lulu’s IPO could raise up to USD 1.7 bn (AED 6.3 bn). This tops recent IPOs like NMDC Energy’s AED 3.2 bn in September, Alef Education’s AED 1.9 bn IPO, and ADNH Catering’s AED 864 mn listing last month.
ADVISORS- Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Citigroup, Emirates NBD Capital and HSBC Holdings are acting as 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.
The story also got ink in Bloomberg.
