Saudi Tadawul sets IPO offer price at higher end

Saudi Tadawul Group, the owner and operator of the kingdom’s stock exchange, set the final price of its initial public offering at the top end of the range, valuing the company at 12.6 billion Saudi riyals ($3.36bn).

The final offer price was set at 105 riyals per share, Saudi Tadawul Group said after the book-building process.

It had earlier set the price range of its IPO between 95 and 105 riyals per share. The total order book was 458bn riyals.

Saudi Tadawul Group is selling 36 million shares, or 30 per cent of its 120 million issued share capital, to the public.

The company, which received approval for the public float from Saudi Arabia’s Capital Markets Authority this month, said individual subscribers will be able to subscribe in the offering between today and Thursday.

On November 9, the holding company increased the size of the offering for retail investors to 30 per cent, up from 10 per cent initially, to increase overall participation.

Tadawul is among the top 10 global stock exchanges, with a market capitalisation of about $2.8tn

“Our aim is to provide an adequate opportunity to all types of investors in the Saudi equity market to participate in the offering,” said Khalid Al Hussan, chief executive of Saudi Tadawul Group.

“Individual investors’ demand has been high, as seen during recent IPOs in Saudi Arabia, and we wanted to seize this momentum to encourage diversity in our shareholding structure post-listing.”

Saudi Tadawul Group’s shares will be listed on the main index of the Saudi Exchange once offering and listing formalities are completed, the company said. Citigroup, JP Morgan and SNB Capital are listed as financial advisers and global co-ordinators for the offering.

The kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, which is the sole owner of the company, is selling the shares that will be offered to both retail and institutional investors.

Tadawul, which is among the top 10 global stock markets with a market capitalisation of about $2.8 trillion, will become the third publicly traded regional stock exchange, after the Dubai Financial Market and Boursa Kuwait, once it is listed.