Manama: Saudi contractor Al Khodari and Sons has appointed a unit of Bahrain-based Gulf International Bank (GIB) as lead manager for its initial public offering (IPO) due in October, GIB said Tuesday.
The Riyadh-based GIB Financial Services will also act as financial adviser and co-underwriter for the IPO through which family-owned Al Khodari will offer 12 million shares, or 30 per cent of its capital, to the public over the October 4-10 period.
A book-building process will determine the pricing of the shares but only Saudi nationals and Saudi-registered financial firms can buy into the IPO. The Khobar-based construction firm was founded in 1966 and caters mainly to industrial firms in Saudi Arabia and abroad and also services highways and bridges. It has branches in Kuwait and Dubai.
Fawwaz Al Khodari and Jamil Al Khodari, respectively the firm's chairman and general manager, could not immediately be reached for a comment.
Property developer Knowledge Economic City raised 1.02 billion riyals (Dh0.97 billion) in the most recent IPO in Saudi Arabia. The IPO was 72 per cent oversubscribed.
Al Jouf Cement plans to offer 50 per cent of its shares to the public, or 65 million shares at 10 riyals a share in July.
The Saudi stock market is the largest in the Gulf and several Saudi companies have unveiled IPO plans this year.
Saudi family businesses have been hit by a freeze in lending from Saudi and international banks in the wake of the financial crisis, leaving equity markets as an alternative to raise financing.
