EFG Hermes Successfully Concludes Landmark USD 935 Million Accelerated Equity Offering for ADNOC Drilling
EFG Hermes acted as a Joint Global Coordinator and Joint Bookrunner for the largest offering of its kind in the UAE
EFG Hermes, an EFG Holding company and the leading investment bank in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, announced today that its investment banking division successfully concluded a landmark USD 935 million Accelerated Equity Offering (AEO) for ADNOC Drilling Company PJSC (“ADNOC Drilling”), the biggest of its kind in the UAE. Placement constitutes a sale of 880 million shares priced at AED 3.90, representing 5.5% of ADNOC Drilling’s total share capital. ADNOC will continue to retain a majority 78.5% shareholding in the Company. EFG Hermes acted as a Joint Global Coordinator and Joint Bookrunner for the Offering.
This transaction signifies a major achievement for EFG Hermes, showcasing the company’s increasing expertise and knowledge in regional capital markets, particularly highlighting its strong distribution network. The AEO sets a new standard in the region due to its magnitude, reinforcing EFG Hermes’s standing as the preferred advisor for significant landmark transactions.
The Offering saw strong demand from institutional investors in the GCC and internationally and was priced at AED 3.90 per share, approximately 70% above the Initial Public Offering (IPO) price of AED 2.30 per share and represents a 5.6% discount to the Company’s closing price on May 22, 2024. Settlement of the Offering is expected to occur on or around May 28, 2024.
“We are truly honored and proud to have been chosen to play a pivotal role in this groundbreaking offering. Marking our seventh ECM transaction with ADNOC, this transaction underscores the long-standing and successful relationship between our two companies,” stated Ali Khalpey, Head of Equity Capital Markets at EFG Hermes’s Investment Banking division. “This AEO, which attracted significant institutional demand from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and global investors, establishes a new standard for the size and effectiveness of such offerings in the region. It is the largest transaction of its kind to date, potentially paving the way for further similar opportunities.”
The successful completion of the ADNOC Drilling AEO underscores EFG Hermes’s commitment to delivering unparalleled service to its clients and its ambition to lead the way in shaping the future of financial services in the region and is the latest in a series of landmark deals the Firm has advised on in the GCC over the years, including eight IPOs in 2023 alone and two in 2024 so far. Most recently, it acted as the joint bookrunner on Spinney’s IPO on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and 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 and 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).
