The IPO, which marks EFG Hermes’ second IPO advisory in the UAE in 2024, garnered broad interest from investors, with an oversubscription rate of 64.0x (excluding the cornerstone tranche).
EFG Hermes, an EFG Holding Company and the leading investment bank in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), announced today that its investment banking division successfully completed its advisory on the USD 375 million initial public offering (IPO) of Spinneys, an operator of premium grocery retail supermarkets under the “Spinneys,” “Waitrose” and “Al Fair” brands in the UAE, Oman, and planning to open in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2024, on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM). EFG Hermes acted as a joint bookrunner on the transaction.
Spinneys offered a total of 25% of its total issued share capital through the sale of 900,000,000 existing shares at AED 1.53 per share, implying a market capitalization of AED 5.5 billion (USD 1.5 billion).
The IPO captured the attention of local, regional, and international investors, with the total book covered more than 64 times (excluding the cornerstone tranche). The company began trading today under the ticker [SPINNEYS].
Karim Meleka, Co-Head of Investment Banking at EFG Hermes, an EFG Holding company, commented, “This achievement marks a significant milestone in the UAE’s financial landscape, showcasing the strength and attractiveness of the country’s capital markets. We are immensely proud to have played a pivotal role in bringing Spinneys to the public market, showcasing our expertise in navigating complex transactions and our deep understanding of regional market dynamics. The remarkable oversubscription of the offering underscores the strong investor appetite for quality assets within the UAE and across the broader MENA region. It reaffirms our position as the advisor of choice committed to delivering value to our clients and builds on our track record of helping private companies come to market. The overwhelming investor interest in the offering reflects the company’s robust growth potential and serves as a resounding vote of confidence in the broader economic outlook of the UAE.”
Spinneys operates 75 premium grocery retail supermarkets under the “Spinneys,” “Waitrose,” and “Al Fair” brands in the UAE and Oman with plans to open the Company’s first store in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the first half of 2024. Spinneys is one of the leading premium grocery retailers in the region, commanding a 27% share of its target market in Dubai and a 12% share of its AED 23 billion target market in the UAE in 2022. Revenue in 2023 grew to AED 2.87 billion, at a CAGR of 8.2% 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.
This transaction is the latest in a series of landmark deals the Firm has advised on in the GCC region over the years, including eight IPOs in 2023 alone. Most recently, it acted as the joint bookrunner on Parkin’s IPO on the DFM – the most oversubscribed IPO on the DFM to date. The Firm also advised on the IPO of Dubai Taxi Company on the DFM, as well as the IPO of OQ Gas Networks on the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) the largest Omani IPO in over two decades. It also advised on the IPO of ADES Holding Company on the Saudi Exchange, as well as the successful IPOs of ADNOC L&S and ADNOC Gas Plc on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX); IPO of Lumi Rental Company on the Saudi Exchange; Abraj Energy Services on the MSX; and Al Ansari Financial Services PJSC on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).
