Khaleej Times

Spinneys kicks off IPO to raise DH1.375B

- Issac John issacjohn@khaleejtim­es.com

The offer price for the initial public offering of Spinneys' franchisee in the UAE and Oman has been set between Dh1.42 and Dh1.53 per share as the subscripti­on opened on Tuesday.

The supermarke­t chain, which operates 75 premium grocery retail supermarke­ts under the Spinneys, Waitrose and Al Fair brands in the UAE and Oman, seeks to raise as much as Dh1.375 billion from the sale of 900 million shares or 25 per cent stake. It also plans to expand into Saudi Arabia this year and open stores in Riyadh and Jeddah.

The IPO subscripti­on period is expected to close on Monday, April 29, 2024 for UAE retail investors and on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 for profession­al investors.

Final offer price

The company said the final offer price will be determined through a book building process and is expected to be announced on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.

Admission of shares to trading on DFM is expected to take place on Thursday, May 9, 2024. The price range implies that the retail operator's market capitalisa­tion at the time of listing is between Dh5.11 billion and Dh5.51 billion.

A total of 900 million shares, each with a nominal value of Dh0.01 will be made available in the offering. All shares to be offered are existing shares held by the selling shareholde­r, Al Seer Group, who reserves the right to amend the size of the offering at any time prior to the end of the subscripti­on period at its sole discretion, subject to applicable laws and the approval of the SCA, a statement from Spinneys said.

On Tuesday, Spinneys and the selling shareholde­r entered into cornerston­e investor agreements with Emirates Internatio­nal Investment Company (EIIC), Templeton Asset Management and Franklin Templeton Investment­s as investment managers on behalf of certain funds and accounts, will be cornerston­e investors in the IPO with a total commitment of Dh 275 million, the statement said.

EIIC is the strategic investment vehicle of National Holding, an Abu Dhabi-based group with strategic investment­s across leading sectors in the UAE and Mena region.

‘Strong interest’

“We have seen very strong interest in our IPO since announcing our intention to float, and we are delighted to be opening subscripti­ons to investors in the UAE and internatio­nal markets. We believe this is a truly unique offering, a rare private sector listing for the local market and an opportunit­y for investors to participat­e in the story of a much-loved household name that is committed to fresh products and high standards of customer service,” said Sunil Kumar, CEO of Spinneys.

Kumar said Spinneys business offers continued growth with a strong track record built on the expansion of its store network, increasing online penetratio­n, differenti­ated private label offering, and a vertically integrated supply chain - combining to deliver strong profitabil­ity.

“Our future growth is expected to be further supported by our planned entry into the highly at

We believe this is a truly unique offering, a rare private sector listing for the local market and an opportunit­y for investors to participat­e in the story of a muchloved household name that is committed to fresh products and high standards of customer service.” Sunil Kumar CEO of Spinneys

tractive Saudi market, as well as the introducti­on of new formats and the expansion of our ecommerce business. We look forward to announcing the final offer price next week and, in due course, welcoming new shareholde­rs to be a part of our growth story,” said Kumar.

Rothschild & Co Middle East Limited has been appointed as independen­t financial adviser. Emirates NBD Capital has been appointed as listing adviser. Emirates NBD Capital, Merrill Lynch Internatio­nal and HSBC Bank Middle East Limited have been appointed as joint global coordinato­rs and joint book-runners.

Spinneys commanded a 27 per cent share of its target market in Dubai and 12 per cent share of its Dh23 billion target market in the UAE in 2022.

Revenue in 2023 grew to Dh2.87 billion at a CAGR of 8.2 per cent from 2019, driven by increasing online penetratio­n, increasing private label penetratio­n, successful navigation of inflation through strategic pricing, and an expanding store footprint in the UAE.

 ?? — FILE PHOTO ?? A Spinneys supermarke­t. The price range implies that the retail operator’s market capitalisa­tion at the time of listing is between Dh5.11 billion and Dh5.51 billion.
— FILE PHOTO A Spinneys supermarke­t. The price range implies that the retail operator’s market capitalisa­tion at the time of listing is between Dh5.11 billion and Dh5.51 billion.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Arab Emirates