#Saudi PIF-Backed Cooling Firm Taps Citi, SNB Capital for IPO - Bloomberg

Saudi PIF-Backed Cooling Firm Taps Citi, SNB Capital for IPO - Bloomberg

Saudi Tabreed District Cooling Co. is working with Citigroup Inc. and SNB Capital for a potential initial public offering in Riyadh, according to people familiar with the matter.

The firm, backed by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund and a United Arab Emirates company, could go public as soon as this year, two of the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. No final decisions have been made, with details like size and exact timeline still under discussion, they said.

Representatives for the Public Investment Fund and SNB did not respond to requests for comment, while a Citi spokesperson declined to comment.

The PIF, as the wealth fund is known, acquired a 30% stake in Saudi Tabreed in 2022. The holding was valued at about $250 million, Bloomberg News had reported at that time.

The Dubai-listed National Central Cooling Co., also known as Tabreed, holds a 21.8% stake in its Saudi affiliate, according to its 2023 annual report.

Representatives for Tabreed didn’t respond to requests for comment, while spokespeople for the Saudi unit couldn’t be reached for comment.

The PIF is the main entity tasked with driving Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s ambitious plans to diversify the economy away from oil. With the kingdom projected to run deficits in the coming years, the wealth fund has been tapping the bond markets and selling stakes in portfolio companies to raise funds.

Apart from Saudi Tabreed, it’s lining up IPOs of the country’s biggest medical procurement firm and a major port operator, Bloomberg News has reported.

Overall, Saudi Arabia had IPOs worth more than $4 billion in 2024, and the pipeline for 2025 looks robust. The regulator recently greenlit planned offerings by technology services firm Ejada Systems Ltd., developer Umm Al Qura for Development & Construction Co. and financial services company Derayah Financial Co.

The Middle East, where temperatures often soar above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 Celsius) during the summer, is a big market for centralized cooling systems for buildings.