Parkin raises Dh1.57bn in oversubscribed DFM listing

Parkin, the company set up by Dubai to oversee parking operations in the emirates, has raised Dh1.57 billion from its initial public offering, the first in the UAE this year, which received record investor demand.

The selling shareholder, Dubai Investment Fund, sold 749.7 million ordinary shares, representing 24.99 per cent of the company’s total issued share capital, Parkin said.

The final offer price of Dh2.10 a share, at the top of the price range announced earlier this month, implies a market capitalisation at listing on the Dubai Financial Market of Dh6.3 billion. The subscription period for retail investors ran from March 5 to March 12 while that for institutional investors ended on Wednesday.

The company expects to start trading on the Dubai bourse this coming Thursday.

The offering received record-breaking interest, with total gross demand for the IPO hitting Dh259 billion.

It was oversubscribed by about 165 times across the retail and institutional tranches of the deal, making it the highest oversubscription level for a public float achieved on the DFM, the company said.

The qualified investor tranche attracted investor interest from around the globe of more than Dh230 billion, implying an oversubscription of about 166 times at the final offer price. The aggregate demand for the retail component of the deal from investors in the UAE hit Dh29 billion and was oversubscribed by 153 times.

On Wednesday, the company increased the number of shares offered to retail investors in the public offering to 89.96 million shares, or about 12 per cent of the total shares being sold, from the previous 10 per cent.

Close to 63,000 subscription applications were submitted during the book-building process, which is a record for a DFM IPO. The overwhelming demand underpins investor confidence in Dubai’s critical infrastructure and its longterm growth prospects, it said.

“Today represents a milestone moment for our business as we secured record-breaking investor demand for Parkin shares,” Mohamed Al Ali, chief executive of Parkin, said.

As a part of the emirate’s critical infrastructure, Parkin is central to Dubai’s growth plans and the IPO will enable the company to continue providing “seamless, sustainable and innovative mobility solutions”, Mr Al Ali said.