Yahoo Finance Spinneys’ Dubai IPO Set to Price at Top, Raising $375 Million
(Bloomberg) -- High-end supermarket chain Spinneys’ Dubai initial public offering is expected to price at the top of the range and raise 1.38 billion dirhams ($375 million), showing strong demand for a rare private sector listing in the United Arab Emirates.
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The share sale is expected to price at 1.53 dirhams apiece and books are significantly oversubscribed at that level, according to terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg. The final price is set to be announced on May 1, with the stock expected to start trading a week after.
Al Seer Group LLC, the family behind Spinneys 1961 Holding plc, is selling 900 million shares in the offering at a price range that began at 1.42 dirhams. Investors snapped up all shares on offer minutes after books opened last week, indicating continued strong demand for regional listings.
The high demand bodes well for other privately-held firms that may be weighing IPOs in the Gulf nation. Since late 2021 the UAE has seen a wave of listings but the vast majority have been state-owned companies as the government seeks to fund the diversification of its economy away from oil and expand the capital markets.
Spinneys attracted Franklin Templeton as a cornerstone investor, another relatively rare feature in UAE listings, where anchors have typically been local funds. Fertiglobe plc’s Abu Dhabi listing in 2021 drew Singapore’s GIC Pte and U.S. hedge fund manager Jeff Ubben.
Franklin Templeton and Emirates International Investment Company LLC together committed to subscribe for 275 million dirhams in Spinneys’ IPO.
The last family-owned company to go public in the UAE was money exchange firm Al Ansari Financial Services PJSC, which raised $210 million last year. Its shares have been largely unchanged from their offer price.
Owned by the Al Bwardy family, Spinneys opened its first store in 1961 and now operates 75 supermarkets under the Spinneys, Waitrose and Al Fair brands in the UAE and Oman. It’s planning to expand into Saudi Arabia, the Gulf’s biggest economy, this year.
Emirates NBD Capital, Bank of America Corp., and HSBC Holdings Plc are joint global coordinators for Spinneys’ IPO, while EFG Hermes is a joint bookrunner. Rothschild & Co. is the independent financial adviser.
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