Dubai: Fertiglobe, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Co and chemical producer OCI , on Wednesday set the price range for its initial public offering, implying an equity valuation for the company of $5.5 billion to $6 billion.
The maker of fertilisers and clean ammonia products also said in a statement it had secured Inclusive Capital Partners, Abu Dhabi Pension Fund and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC as cornerstone investors.
It said it intends to bring Jeffrey Ubben, a well-known activist hedge fund manager, on to the Fertiglobe board of directors after the listing.
Ubben, who grew ValueAct Capital into one of the worlds most powerful activist hedge funds, also co-founded Inclusive Capital Partners, a socially and environmentally conscious fund.
Existing shareholders will sell a 13.8 per cent stake in the IPO at an indicative price range of 2.45 to 2.65 dirhams per share.
After the listing, OCI will own 50 per cent plus one share and ADNOC will hold a 36.2% stake.
The company could raise between $765 million to $827 million in the IPO.
“The pricing is more realistic we believe at this range....
and the important thing is having three (cornerstone) investors,” said Mohammed Ali Yasin, chief strategy officer at Al Dhabi Capital.
“It is a very strong announcement and shows how ADNOC is determined to make this a success.” Fertiglobe said the final offer price is expected to be announced on Oct. 20, and listing of the shares in Abu Dhabi is expected on Oct. 27.
Abu Dhabi bourse ADX is seeing a surge of new listings this year.
Fertiglobe is the second ADNOC-backed company seeking a listing on the ADX after ADNOC Drilling raised $1.1 billion in its IPO.
It also said it will increase its dividend guidance from at least $150 million to at least $200 million for the second half of 2021, and from at least $315 million to at least $400 million for financial year 2022.
Citigroup, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC Bank Middle East Ltd and Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc have been appointed as joint global coordinators.
EFG Hermes, Goldman Sachs International and International Securities LLC are acting as joint bookrunners.
