New IPO alert: UAE's ALEC to publicly list soon as Dubai sells 20% stake

Dubai: ALEC Holdings, one of the UAE’s largest engineering and construction firms, will go public this month in a move set to bring a state-owned contractor onto the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) for the first time.

The company will sell 1 billion shares, equal to 20% of its capital, through an initial public offering (IPO). The shares are being sold by the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), which will continue to hold 80% after the deal.

Subscription opens on September 23, 2025 and closes on September 30, with trading expected to start on October 15.

How the IPO is structured

• Retail investors: 5% of the offer (50 million shares) is reserved for the public. The minimum application is Dh5,000, with a guaranteed allocation of at least 2,000 shares.

• Professional investors: 94% of shares (940 million) are allocated to institutions and high-net-worth individuals. The minimum application is Dh1 million.

• Employees: 1% of shares (10 million) are set aside for eligible staff, with a minimum investment of Dh20,000.

• Two government funds — the Emirates Investment Authority and the Pensions and Social Security Fund of Local Military Personnel — have priority rights to 5% each of the offer.

Key dates for investors

September 23: Subscriptions open

September 27: Last date for cheque payments

September 30: Subscriptions close (final deadline for e-channels)

October 1: Offer price announced

October 7: Allocation results sent to applicants

October 15: Shares expected to list on DFM

What investors need to know

To subscribe, investors must hold a DFM Investor Number (NIN) and a UAE bank account. Applications can be made through major banks such as Emirates NBD, ADCB, FAB, Mashreq, and Dubai Islamic Bank, or via the DFM IPO platform.

ALEC’s shares will be priced at a nominal value of Dh0.01 each, giving the company a paid-up capital of Dh50 million.

Governance and advisers

At listing, ALEC’s board will have seven members, including Chairman Hussain Nasser Lootah and Executive Director Barry Roy Lewis. Shares held by ICD will be subject to a 180-day lock-up period.

Advisers include Emirates NBD Capital, ADCB, and EFG Hermes as joint lead managers, Deloitte as auditors, and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Ibrahim N. Partners, and Linklaters as legal advisers.

Why the IPO matters

This is the first time investors can buy into ALEC, a company known for large-scale building, airport, and industrial projects in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The listing marks a step toward privatising part of a state-owned business and gives investors a chance to participate in one of the region’s leading contractors.

For the wider market, the IPO will add a new sector to the DFM and help diversify investment opportunities for both retail and institutional investors.