EFG Hermes, the leading investment bank franchise in Frontier and Emerging Markets (FEM), announced that its investment banking division successfully completed advisory on the $1.8 billion initial public offering (IPO) of Americana Restaurants International Plc (Americana) on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Saudi Exchange) and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) the first-of-its-kind concurrent dual listing between the two exchanges. The Firm acted as Joint Bookrunner and Underwriter on the listing.
Americana offered 30% of its share capital at the top of the offer price range of AED 2.62/share in the UAE and SAR 2.68/share in Saudi Arabia, implying a total market capitalization of USD 6.01 billion. The transaction garnered significant interest from retail and institutional investors alike, with total orders hitting USD 105 billion and the IPO being c.58x oversubscribed. Trading on the company’s shares commenced yesterday under the ticker ‘Americana’ on the Saudi Exchange and ‘AMR’ on the ADX.
Mohamed Fahmi, EFG Hermes’ Co-Head of Investment Banking, commented, “We are incredibly proud to have played a part in this historic transaction — another milestone added to our solid regional track record of firsts in the region. With a flurry of diverse, high-quality offerings, UAE and Saudi listings in particular have managed to garner strong demand from global institutional investors this year, and our world-class sales and distribution team has been instrumental in reaching a wide investor base while simultaneously executing on several key ECM transactions. We are thrilled to not only play a role in expanding these markets but also to support Americana in kick-starting a new chapter in its growth story by leveraging our market expertise to build a book of quality regional and global institutional investors at the time of listing.”
Americana is the largest out-of-home dining and quick-service restaurant operator, boasting an expansive presence in 12 countries across MENA and Kazakhstan. As the region’s leading restaurant platform, the company serves a large and growing addressable population of over 270 million people, giving them access to an extensive network of global and iconic restaurant brands including KFC, Pizza Hut, Hardee's, Krispy Kreme, TGI Friday’s, Costa Coffee, Peet’s Coffee, and Baskin Robbins.
The deal is the latest in a series of firsts EFG Hermes Investment Banking has been part of in the GCC ECM space, including the IPO of Arabian Centers Company (ACC) — the first Saudi IPO to have qualified US institutional investors as part of the institutional base — and the first book building transaction in the UAE for Emaar Malls. It also advised on International Diagnostics Holdings (IDH’s) dual listing on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE) — the first listing between both exchanges — and first dual listing between the EGX and Nasdaq Dubai for Orascom Construction (OC).
Saud Altassan, CEO of EFG Hermes KSA, also commented on the transaction, “We are delighted to see the completion of such a historic transaction for Saudi Arabia and to be part of yet another first-of-its-kind transaction in the region. This deal marks the first dual listing for Saudi Arabia, paving the way for other non-Saudi issuers to list on the Saudi Exchange — an exchange that has undeniably contributed to providing diverse prospects for regional and global investors alike this year. We are excited to be a part of this new chapter for Americana and to continue bringing more groundbreaking, value-accretive offerings that deepen the region’s financial markets.”
More recently, the team concluded advisory on the successful listing of Taaleem’s USD 204 million IPO on the DFM. The division also served as joint bookrunner on the USD 1.0 billion listing of Dubai’s exclusive toll-gate operator Salik on the DFM, and concluded advisory on Abu Dhabi’s largest ever IPO, and the USD 2.0 billion listing of Borouge, one of the world’s leading providers of innovative and differentiated polyolefin solutions. The division also advised on Ali Alghanim and Sons Automotive Company’s USD 323 million private placement ahead its IPO on Boursa Kuwait and served as advisor and joint bookrunner on the USD 6.1 billion listing of Dubai utility player DEWA — the largest ever listing in the Middle East since Saudi Aramco’s record share sale.
