Saudi Arabian financial services firm United International Holding Co. had demand for all shares in its up to 990 million riyal ($264 million) initial public offering minutes after subscriptions opened, indicating continued demand for listings in the region.
Books were covered throughout the price range of 120 to 132 riyals per share, according to the terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg News. Its parent United Electronics Co. — known as Extra — is selling 7.5 million shares, or a 30% stake in the firm. Local funds agreed to subscribe to 15.6% of the offer, according to a separate announcement Monday.
HSBC Saudi Arabia is the financial advisor, lead manager and bookrunner on the offering, while EFG Hermes KSA is the joint-bookrunner. The subscription period for institutional investors will end on Nov. 4, while the offer will be open to retail investors on Nov. 19 and Nov. 20.
The deal came on a busy day for new share sales in the Middle East. Grocer Lulu Retail Holdings Plc, which is looking to raise $1.43 billion from its Abu Dhabi IPO, also had demand for all stock on offer soon after books opened. In Oman, OQ Exploration & Production declined in its trading debut after a record $2 billion share sale.
United International is one of a handful of private companies listing in the Middle East this year. Food delivery service Talabat and IT services firm Alpha Data are also planning listings in the United Arab Emirates, while buy-now-pay-later firm Tabby is considering plans to list in Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi firm is one of the largest providers of Shariah-compliant consumer finance services in the kingdom through its units — Tas’heel Finance and Procco Financial Services, according to its website.
Share sales in Riyadh have raised $15.8 billion so far this year, mainly driven by Saudi Aramco’s bumper $12.3 billion secondary sale.
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