#AbuDhabi’s Mubadala Launches Up To $920 Million Du Stake Sale - Bloomberg

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Launches Up To $920 Million Du Stake Sale - Bloomberg

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co. had demand for all shares on offer in a sale of part of its stake in telecom operator Du that could draw as much as $920 million, according to terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg News.

The wealth fund is offering a 7.55% stake or 342 million shares in Du, officially known as Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co PJSC, at between 9 and 9.90 dirhams each, according to a statement. At the higher end of the range, which matches its closing price on Thursday, it could raise as much as 3.39 billion dirhams ($920 million).

Du’s stock slipped 3% following the news, but remains 28% up year-to-date.

Mubadala owns roughly 10% of Du through its Mamoura Diversified Global Holding unit. It previously cut its Du stake in 2019, when it sold 10% — then worth about $630 million — to the Emirates Investment Authority.

The offering will “significantly increase” Du’s free float and help diversify its investor base and improve liquidity, the company said in the announcement.

Institutional and retail book building is expected to close on Sept. 12, with a final price announced on Sept. 15.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC, Emirates NBD and First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC are leading the transaction. Bloomberg News reported in March that Mubadala was working with banks on the deal.

Secondary share sales are becoming more frequent in the Middle East after a four-year boom in initial public offerings. In the UAE, follow-on offerings have outpaced IPOs this year, with nearly $3.8 billion raised through placements including two Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. subsidiaries and in First Abu Dhabi Bank. In Saudi Arabia, firms raised about $13 billion from two such deals in 2024.

Du was part of an earlier wave of IPOs in the UAE and raised 2.4 billion dirhams in 2006 through a Dubai listing. Emirates Investment Authority, the UAE’s federal wealth fund, remains its largest shareholder with a stake of just over 50%.