ADNOC L&S MAY RAISE UP TO $607m FROM ADX LISTING
▶ Adnoc’s logistics and shipping unit sets offer price range of Dh1.99-Dh2.01 as subscription opens for its 15% stake
Adnoc Logistics & Services, an Adnoc subsidiary, may raise as much as Dh2.23 billion ($607 million) from the sale of a 15 per cent stake in an initial public offering.
The company expects to sell more than 1.1 billion shares and set the offer price range between Dh1.99 and Dh2.01 a share, implying a market capitalisation of Dh14.7 billion to Dh14.9 billion at listing, it said yesterday.
Adnoc announced plans last week to list 15 per cent of its logistics and shipping unit on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, marking the second IPO of one of its businesses this year, following the listing of Adnoc Gas in March.
The IPO subscription period began yesterday, with the final offer price set to be announced on May 25. The selling shareholder can amend the size of the offering at any time before pricing of the deal.
The subscription period for the retail tranche will close on May 23 while the second tranche for qualified investors is expected to close on May 24.
The shares of Adnoc L&S are expected to begin trading on the bourse on June 1.
Al Seer Marine Supplies & Equipment, the National Marine Dredging Company, Alpha Oryx (ultimately owned by the Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company) and the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund have – directly or indirectly – committed to become cornerstone investors in the IPO, with a combined commitment of about $180 million, Adnoc said.
The company will raise between Dh2.21 billion and Dh2.23 billion from the sale of its logistics unit. The Adnoc L&S IPO comes amid a flurry of listings in the Gulf region and Dubai, which plans to bolster the size of its capital markets.
Middle East IPOs raised more than $23 billion last year, compared with $7.52 billion from 20 offerings in the previous year. That was the highest share for the Gulf region after 2019, when Saudi Aramco went public in a $29 billion offering, the world’s largest.
The UAE had 12 listings that raised $11 billion last year, apart from the joint Abu Dhabi-Riyadh listing of Mena food franchisee Americana, which reaped $1.8 billion in late 2022.
The GCC will continue to attract IPOs in 2023, despite the challenges facing the global economy, with 27 to 39 companies possibly floating their shares, according to Kuwait’s Kamco Invest.
Abu Dhabi accounted for 14 per cent of all listings worldwide in the first quarter of this year, an indication of the strength of its capital markets amid a challenging global IPO market, consultancy EY said in its Global IPO Trends report.
The UAE capital attracted $3 billion worth of listings proceeds in the three months ended March, placing it third worldwide.
Adnoc L&S, which provides logistics and maritime solutions, aims to have a growth capital expenditure of $4 billion to $5 billion in the medium term to expand the scope of services provided to companies in the Adnoc group.
Last week, the company announced plans to pay dividends twice each financial year.
It intends to pay a fixed dividend of $195 million for the second quarter and the second half of this year – equal to annualised dividends of $260 million relating to its performance in 2023. Of that amount, $65 million for the second quarter is expected to be paid in the fourth quarter of the year while the remaining $130 million for the second half of 2023 will be distributed in the second quarter of 2024.
Thereafter, Adnoc L&S expects to “increase the 2023 annual dividend per share on a progressive basis by at least 5 per cent annual growth over the medium term, while regularly reviewing the policy in light of value-accretive growth opportunities”, it said at the time.
Citigroup Global Markets Limited, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC Bank Middle East and JP Morgan have been appointed as joint global co-ordinators and bookrunners, while Moelis & Co is acting as independent financial adviser on the IPO.