Almasar Alshamil Education’s IPO draws strong demand

Dubai: Almasar Alshamil Education has completed the individual investor offering for its initial public offering on the Saudi Exchange after attracting strong demand from retail buyers.

The individual tranche, open from 18 to 20 November, drew 95,679 investors who placed orders worth SAR 218.2 million, resulting in an oversubscription rate of 1.21 times. Each subscriber received a minimum of ten shares, with remaining shares allotted on a pro-rata basis. The average allocation factor reached 80.7%.

Almasar Alshamil operates education institutions across the GCC, including Middlesex University Dubai, and holds a 35% stake in NEMA Holding. The company is positioning itself as one of the region’s fastest-growing specialised education groups.

The strong retail interest follows an unusually heavy institutional response earlier in the month. The book-building process, which closed on 6 November, generated orders of SAR 61.6 billion, implying an oversubscription rate of 102.9 times. The final offer price was set at SAR 19.50 per share.

A total of 30.7 million shares—representing 30% of the company’s share capital—were offered, all sold by the existing shareholder. Of these, 9.2 million shares (30%) were allocated to individual investors, while 21.5 million shares (70%) went to participating institutional parties. The IPO is expected to raise SAR 599 million, giving the company a market capitalisation of SAR 1.997 billion at listing.

Chairman Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil said the response reflects confidence in the company’s strategy and its role in supporting the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 education goals. He added that the listing marks a major milestone as the group expands high-quality and accessible education across the region.

SNB Capital acted as financial advisor, lead manager and underwriter, with SNB Capital and EFG Hermes Saudi Arabia serving as joint bookrunners for the institutional tranche. The company’s shares will be listed on the Main Market upon completion of regulatory procedures.