Dubai: SEE Holding, which developed the Middle East’s first residential community to achieve net zero, is set to pick banks including Barclays and Citigroup to work on the planned initial public offering of its business including The Sustainable City entity, according to people familiar with the matter.
Emirates NBD and First Abu Dhabi Bank are also close to being hired for the IPO in the UAE, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. The company has yet to decide on the venue for the listing, which could happen as soon as next year, they said.
SEE Holding plans to include its engineering, design and advisory units in the listing, as well as its sustainability city development business, Bloomberg News has previously reported. Details such as the size and timing of the deal are still being discussed and may change, the people said.
Representatives for SEE Holding and all of the banks declined to comment.
Under The Sustainable City brand and via its Diamond Developers entity, SEE Holding is building residential communities which are compliant with the Paris Agreement that aims to limit global warming. In Dubai, their first sustainable community generates its own power with about 500 villas fitted with solar panels. It also has 11 biodome greenhouses and an urban farm running the full length of the development.
The company is working on similar projects in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Oman, according to its website.
Advanced Inhalation Rituals, the owner of shisha brand Al Fakher, and Dubizzle Group, which operates classifieds websites popular with expatriates, are among private companies looking to list in the country, Bloomberg News has reported.
The UAE is hosting the COP28 climate summit this year and is bolstering efforts to mitigate carbon emissions and making funding available for green projects.
