Dubai: Each retail investor from the UAE who subscribed to the Americana Restaurants’ IPO got minimum 1,000 shares while their Saudi counterparts got minimum 892 shares each. UAE and Saudi retail investors each were allocated 10 per cent apiece in the IPO. (Americana had raised the percentage for UAE retail investors to 10 per cent from 5 per cent at the time of the IPO announcement.)
This sets up Americana for a listing on ADX and Saudi Tadawul on December 12, and capping what has been an exceptionally strong year for both. “We are looking forward to the next step of our growth journey and working towards future value creation,” said Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman of Americana Restaurants.
“We are equally proud to have taken the final step towards a historic first-ever concurrent dual listing on ADX and the Saudi Exchange – further enhancing the depth and maturity of the UAE and Saudi capital markets. We look forward to welcoming our new shareholders in December.”
In the UAE, the offer price was at Dh2.62 a share and in Saudi Arabia at SR2.68. Institutional investors picked up 80 per cent of the offer in what is the Middle East’s biggest restaurant operator, with franchises for Pizza Hut, Krispy Kreme and KFC, among others.
Americana, which is using the IPO as a platform for fast-tracking geographical expansion, generated orders of around $105 billion (Dh386 million) from institutional investors. The UAE retail offer got 48.2x in orders, affirming that Americana’s plan to double the issue size to 10 per cent was on the ball. The Saudi retail portion received a 2.8x over-subscription.
"For the offering to be priced at the top of the range is a clear demonstration of the opportunity that we present to investors, and that was further proven by aggregate oversubscription of approximately 58x," said Alabbar.
Surplus subscription amounts will be refunded to retail investors in the UAE on November 30 and to retail investors in Saudi Arabia prior to December 8.
