Saudi Home Financing Firm Starts 1st Mideast IPO Since Virus
Saudi Home Financing Firm Starts First Mideast IPO Since Virus
(Bloomberg) --
Amlak International for Real Estate Finance plans to sell shares in an IPO this month in what will be the first Middle Eastern sale since the coronavirus prompted governments to shut down economies.
The Saudi non-bank real estate finance company will offer 27.2 million shares, representing 30% of its capital, according to a statement. NCB Capital will manage the process.
The sale would follow a February offering by hospital operator Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group Co., which raised 2.63 billion riyals ($701 million). Saudi Arabia’s BinDawood Holding is also pushing ahead with the IPO of its supermarket business, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The IPO will give Amlak “more visibility with customers and reduce our cost of capital,” Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Al Sudairy said in an interview. “We have about 1.4 billion riyals in un-utilized facilities. We see that banks give better rates to public listed companies.”
Amlak had postponed an earlier announcement to sell shares, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News in March.
Amlak IPO Timetable
- Start of institutional book-building: June 22
- Close of institutional book-building: June 29
- Announcement of offer price: June 30
- Start of retail offer: July 2
- Close of retail offer: July 5
- Allocation of shares: July 12
- Refund to all subscribers, if any: July 15
Al Sudairy also said:
- On outlook amid coronavirus pandemic: “The fundamentals are still there. The demand from the young population is extremely high, and right now we face a short-term disruption.”
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