Bourse tie-up gives private equity an exit - The National Newspaper

The pending merger of the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and NASDAQ Dubai appears to create a loophole that will allow private equity firms to unlock the value of their investments.

NASDAQ Dubai requires a company to float only 25 per cent to go public on that exchange. The DFM has a 55 per cent flotation threshold for companies to be listed there.

After NASDAQ’s merger with the DFM, NASDAQ-listed companies that went public with a 25 per cent flotation would be able to trade on the DFM without meeting its higher flotation requirement. The merger allows companies to have the best of both worlds – a lower flotation and access to greater liquidity.