Saudi IPO: Budget airline flynas confirms retail investor tally

Dubai: Saudi Arabia's low-cost airline flynas IPO was 3.5 times over-subscribed by retail investors - this after it was 100 times over the mark in subscriptions generated from institutional buyers.

Each retail investor in flynas will get a minimum of 10 shares, and the remaining allocated pro-rata in proportion to the size of the demand. (This will result in an average allocation factor of 12.3%.)

The flynas IPO was one of the most high-profile ones to emerge from Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC in recent weeks. In the UAE, the Dubai Residential REIT generated significant investor interest for its stock market entry.

flynas had set the final offer price at SR80 a share, which is the top end of a previously announced price range. This sets up a market cap on listing day of SR13.6 billion ($3.6 billion).

"This followed strong demand from institutional investors, with the institutional tranche being oversubscribed approximately 100 times, generating orders of over SR 409 billion from local and international investors," said a statement.

In all, 10.25 million shares were allocated to retail investors, representing 20% of the total IPo size.

Any surplus subscription funds will be refunded to retail investors 'no later than 5 June'.

The listing date on Saudi Tadawul will be announced later.

The IPO was a 'strategic step' for flynas to accelerate its growth ambitions and 'solidify our position as the leading low-cost carrier for short- and medium-haul flights across the Middle East and North Africa by 2030', its CEO and Managing Director Bander Almohanna had said at the time of the announcement.

"As the only independent airline in Saudi Arabia and the leading low-cost carrier in the region, we are uniquely positioned to benefit from the strong demand driven by the Kingdom’s aviation and tourism strategies, as well as the continued expansion of passenger traffic across the GCC and MENA markets," he added.