UAE IT Services Company Alpha Data Lines Up Abu Dhabi IPO - Bloomberg
United Arab Emirates-based Alpha Data announced plans for an initial public offering, as listings across the Middle East gather pace.
The IT services company will sell a 40% stake, or up to 400 million shares, in Abu Dhabi, according to the terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg. The subscription period will start from Feb. 20 and the firm is expected to be listed around March 11.
EFG Hermes and Emirates NBD Capital are joint global coordinators on the share sale, and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank is joint bookrunner. The company is aiming to raise at least $200 million from the deal, Bloomberg News reported last year.
Established in 1981 by Jordanian national Fayez Ibbini, Alpha Data’s technologies include artificial intelligence, security, big data and cloud services, according to its website.
The company plans to pay a dividend of 130 million dirhams ($35 million) for the financial year ending 31 December 2025, payable in two equal instalments, according to the deal terms.
Alpha Data’s compound annual revenue growth rate has been around 23% between 2021 and 2024, and this year has started positively, especially with the tailwind from agentic AI, Ibbini said in an interview with Bloomberg News.
The firm has been in talks with at least four regional investors who may anchor the transaction, he added.
Firms raised over $6 billion with new share sales in the UAE last year — boosted by jumbo listings from LuLu Retail Holdings Plc and Talabat Holding Plc — making it the busiest IPO venue in the Persian Gulf.
The momentum is set to continue, with Etihad Airways PJSC lining up a $1 billion IPO in Abu Dhabi that will make it the first major Gulf carrier to be listed. In neighboring Dubai, an investment vehicle controlled by the emirate’s ruler is preparing to list two separate real estate portfolios, and state-backed Investment Corp. of Dubai is looking sell shares in a construction company.
Neighboring Saudi Arabia has already seen a burst of IPO activity in the first few weeks of 2025. An online brokerage, a Mecca-based developer and a poultry producer have announced plans to sell shares to the public.
Alpha Data operates in the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia and employs 1,500 people.
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