Saudi Arabian water treatment firm Miahona considers IPO

Riyadh: Saudi Arabian water treatment firm Miahona is considering a domestic initial public offering as soon as next year, according to people familiar with the matter.

Miahona, a portfolio firm of holding company Vision Invest, has held talks with advisers about a potential deal that could raise as much as a couple hundred million dollars, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public.

Himmah Capital is advising Miahona on its share sale, the people said. Representatives for the companies didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment.

Saudi Arabia’s market for IPOs has sprung back to life since the start of the summer after being virtually dormant for the first four months of the year as the benchmark index weakened. While the index then staged a rebound through to late July, it has since fallen again and almost erased the year’s gains.

Still, IPOs across the Gulf appear to be holding up well even as the war between Israel and Hamas risks intensifying. Oil driller ADES Holding has jumped almost 35 per cent from its offer price since its debut in Riyadh on Wednesday.

Miahona provides wastewater treatment and urban water management services, according to its website. It also helps with water reuse to provide an alternative to desalination and long-distance water transportation.

Vision Invest has over $50 billion of assets under management across infrastructure projects and services companies in sectors including power and water, manufacturing, utilities and construction. The company is one of the backers of Acwa Power, which has become one of the main vehicles for the kingdom’s drive to develop low emission energy supplies and sold shares to the public in 2021.