#Dubai’s DEWA Set to Court Wealth Funds in Pre-IPO Investor Talks - Bloomberg

Dubai’s DEWA Set to Court Wealth Funds in Pre-IPO Investor Talks - Bloomberg

Dubai’s main utility will hold its first meetings with select top investors as soon as next week to drum up interest for what will likely be among the city’s largest listings, people familiar with the matter said.

Bankers and officials at Dubai Electricity & Water Authority plan to meet investors including sovereign and pension funds, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

The meeting, scheduled for the second half of next week, will be the first of a series of planned engagements with investors and analysts ahead of the planned listing. The IPO, which could value the utility at as much as $25 billion, may happen by April.

DEWA’s IPO is part of the emirate’s plans to list 10 state-owned companies and revive its stock market. Dubai missed out entirely on last year’s $9.1 billion IPO boom in Middle East and North Africa.

DEWA has chosen Citigroup Inc., HSBC Holdings Plc and Emirates NBD Bank PJSC to lead the offering, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg in December.

The utility, which caters to the emirate’s 3.4 million people, has assets worth up to 190 billion dirhams ($52 billion). It reported net income of 4.9 billion dirhams in 2019, the latest data available to Bloomberg, and is debt free.

Representatives for DEWA didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.