KFC operator set to list on Dec 12

Americana Restaurants International has revised the date for its initial public offering’s concurrent dual listing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Saudi Stock Exchange to December 12.

The company, which has raised $1.8 billion by selling more than 2.52 billion shares or 30 per cent stake of its issued share capital to retail and institutional investors, said it has allocated a minimum of 1,000 shares to each retail subscriber in the UAE and a minimum of 892 shares to each subscriber in Saudi Arabia.

The region’s largest out-of-home dining and quick service restaurant operator, which manages KFC and Pizza Hut outlets in the Middle East & North Africa, and Kazakhstan, said the remaining retail offer shares were allocated on a pro-rata basis for the UAE retail offer and based on an allocation factor of 0.01 per cent for Saudi retail offer. Allocations for the institutional offer have been made in consultation with the financial advisors and the joint global coordinators.

The final price for the shares has been set at Dh2.62 per share in the UAE and SAR2.68 per share in Saudi Arabia following the concurrent book-building process that generated orders of approximately Dh386 billion in aggregate from qualified institutional investors in a number of countries. The UAE retail offer and the Saudi retail offer were oversubscribed by approximately 48.2 times and 2.8 times respectively, while the institutional offer was oversubscribed 65.5 times, resulting in an aggregate oversubscription level of 58 times. A total of 283,245 retail subscribers are participating in the offering in Saudi Arabia, the company said in a statement.

Mohamed Ali Rashed Alabbar, chairman of Americana Restaurants, the success of the IPO is a testament to the immense value that has been created by the business since its inception and, more recently, through its transformation journey.

“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 58 times.”

Alabbar said the company is looking forward to the next step of its growth journey and working towards future value creation.

“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.”

According to the updated offering timetable, surplus subscription amounts would be refunded to retail investors in the UAE on November 30, 2022, and to retail investors in Saudi Arabia prior to December 8, 2022. The IPO will be concluded through a dual listing process on ADX and the Saudi Exchange, with the admission of the Offer Shares to listing and trading now expected to be on 12 December 2022, subject to receiving all required regulatory approvals.

The Middle East region witnessed a boom in IPOs this year, led by the UAE in terms of the aggregate value of deals.

— issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com

• Business