Empower could be next Dubai company to list shares in IPO

Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corp. is set to pick Citigroup Inc., Emirates NBD Bank PJSC and JPMorgan Chase & Co. as joint global coordinators to work on an initial public offering planned for later this year, according to people familiar with the matter.

Known as Empower, the company has been working with Emirates NBD and Moelis & Co., its financial advisers, to prepare a possible listing on the domestic stock exchange, the people said, asking not be named because the information is private.

Empower is one of 10 proposed privatisations in Dubai as part of the city’s plans to bolster its capital markets. A spokesperson at Empower did not respond to requests for comment. Citi, Emirates NBD and JPMorgan declined to comment, while Moelis didn’t immediately respond.

The listing will test whether Middle Eastern investor appetite, a rare bright spot in an otherwise gloomy year for share sales, is holding firm. The city’s first disposal in April was a success, with Dubai Electricity & Water Authority valued at $6.1 billion in an IPO that was 37 times oversubscribed.

Real estate firm Tecom Group was oversubscribed 21 times during book building.

Emirates NBD was involved in both of these floats, while Citi and Moelis worked on the DEWA sale.

DEWA, which owns 70 per cent of Empower, aims to list the latter company by the end of the year, CEO Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer told Bloomberg Television in April. Tecom owns the rest of the firm.

Established almost two decades ago, Empower says it’s the world’s largest district cooling services provider, serving more than 140,000 corporate and individual consumers.