Saudi Arabia readies for next IPO, with Arabian Drilling setting price range of SR90-SR100
Arabian Drilling's IPO comes amidst intense volatility in global stocks
Dubai: The Saudi industrial major Arabian Drilling Co. has set a price range of SR90-SR100 for its IPO, which will see the company float 30 per cent. The IPO will be a pointer to Saudi and GCC investor mindset at a time when global stock markets remain in extreme turmoil over what further US Fed rate hikes will mean.
Arabian Drilling’s total offer size is expected to be SR2.40 billion and SR2.67 billion, which would then suggest a market cap of SR801 billion and SR8.9 billion.
The offer itself will be split into 26.7 million shares, consisting of a secondary offering of 19.89 per cent of the total share capital through the sale of 17.7 million existing shares by the current shareholders of Arabian Drilling - The Industrialization & Energy Services Company (TAQA) and Services Pétroliers Schlumberger - and a primary offering of 10.11 per cent through the issuance of 9 million new shares.
The shares will be offered to Saudi Arabian nationals, foreign residents in the Kingdom, and GCC nationals. (In the year-to-date, the Tadawul is down 2.3 per cent.)
Been active on IPO front
There have been 20 IPOs in Saudi Arabia this year. "Nahdi Medical Co, with a SR5 billion share issuance is the largest, and these shares have performed well and trading at SR186.60 when compared to the issue price of SR131, for a gain of around 42 per cent," said Vijay Valecha, Chief Investment Officer at Century Financial. "The company is one of the largest healthcare firms in the Kingdom.
"Alamar Foods, the operator of Domino’s Pizza and Dunkin’ Donuts, was another major IPO of SR1.22 billion."