Construction firm ALEC Holdings to offer 20% stake in #Dubai IPO | Reuters

Construction firm ALEC Holdings to offer 20% stake in Dubai IPO | Reuters

ALEC Holdings, a Dubai-based engineering and construction firm, said on Monday that it will sell 1 billion shares, representing a 20% stake, in an initial public offering, tapping into strong investor demand and a construction boom in the Gulf.

The deal could raise $400 million, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The subscription period will run during September 23-30, with the offer price announcement scheduled for October 1. Shares are expected to make their debut on the Dubai Financial Market on or around October 15, the company said.

ALEC Holdings, which is wholly owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), has operated in Saudi Arabia since 2020 and also maintains a strong presence in the United Arab Emirates. Following the IPO, the ICD will retain an 80% stake in the company.

ALEC intends to distribute a cash dividend of 500 million dirhams ($136.13 million) for the 2026 financial year and, from then on, aims to pay cash dividends on a semi-annual basis with a minimum payout ratio of 50% of net profit.

In a separate statement addressing questions about the IPO and its fundraising target, the company said it "does not comment on market rumours and speculation," citing company policy.

The UAE's IPO market has surged in recent years, underpinned by blockbuster listings from both state-backed entities and private firms, generating billions in new equity sales.

Following that wave of initial flotations, activity is now shifting toward follow-on offerings, as shareholders from sovereign wealth funds to family-owned businesses seek to reduce their stakes through public markets.

Meanwhile, Gulf contracting firms are benefiting from robust housing demand and a sharp increase in infrastructure spending, fuelled in part by Dubai's resurgent real estate market.

Dubai, home to the world's tallest skyscraper, has become one of the world's fastest-growing cities, surpassing a population of 4 million in August, according to government estimates.

The DFM equity index has climbed more than 16% this year, among the best-performing benchmarks in the region and has outperformed the S&P 500 index.

Emirates NBD Capital and J.P. Morgan are acting as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners for the IPO.

CIO of $168 Billion Australia Fund Quits for #AbuDhabi Rival - Bloomberg

CIO of $168 Billion Australia Fund Quits for Abu Dhabi Rival - Bloomberg

Ben Samild, the investment chief of Australia’s A$252 billion ($168 billion) sovereign wealth fund, has resigned to take up a senior position at a Middle East rival.

Samild will be joining the Abu Dhabi Investment Council as its chief strategist, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the details aren’t yet public. ADIC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The move comes as the unit of Abu Dhabi wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. bolsters its senior ranks and seeks to ramp up global investments. ADIC has recently hired Alain Carrier — the former chief executive officer of private-markets firm Bregal Investments — as head of private equity.

Samild joined Australia’s Future Fund in 2013 and has held the position of chief investment officer for just over two years, the fund said in a statement Monday. His deputy Hugh Murray has been appointed interim CIO while the fund undertakes a recruitment process.

Samild has championed the Future Fund’s so-called joined-up whole portfolio approach to managing money, which avoids a typical strategic asset allocation in favor of investment themes expressed across asset classes. The strategy helped the fund return 9.1% in the three years through June, beating its 8% target for the period.

The objective is to own “the best portfolio we can possibly hold today,” regardless of which bucket the assets may fall into, Samild said in a Q&A with Bridgewater Associates last year. “That’s essentially a mentality of a blank canvas, and competition for capital, and constant evaluation,” he said.

The Future Fund was formed in 2006 to improve the Australian government’s long-term financial position and has since become its largest financial asset. The portfolio has included multi-billion-dollar hedge fund allocations to the likes of Man Group and Citadel, with more than half its assets in private markets.

Chief Executive Officer Raphael Arndt last week said the fund had slightly reduced exposure to US markets and was monitoring President Donald Trump’s pressure on the Federal Reserve, while posting a 12.2% gain for the year through June. US investments remain the fund’s biggest holding.

Samild was previously in charge of the Future Fund’s hedge fund portfolio, which now comprises around 15% of overall investments. Before that, he had worked for a hedge fund for around a decade, and also had a stint at pension fund LUCRF Super, which later merged with AustralianSuper, the nation’s biggest pension fund.
Behavioral Bias

Samild initially intended to become a cognitive neuropsychologist, he said on the Money Maze podcast last year. However, a supervisor in his university’s psychology department imparted an interest in behavioral finance that eventually led him into the industry.

He’s helped produce Future Fund research that has informed the portfolio, including a 2021 paper charting a “new investment order,” based on expectations for elevated inflation, geopolitical tensions and a walking back of globalization partly due to conflict between the US and China.

The fund published a paper extending some of these ideas last year, which stated that government bonds have become less reliable as a diversifying hedge against equity risk and that certain hedge fund strategies may be more appropriate.

Mubadala Sells Down Stake in #UAE Carrier Du for $858 Million - Bloomberg

Mubadala Sells Down Stake in UAE Carrier Du for $858 Million - Bloomberg

Abu Dhabi wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. raised about $858 million from the sale of a stake in Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Co. PJSC after pricing the deal at the lower end of a planned range.

The wealth fund offered a 7.55% stake in the firm, known as Du, at 9.2 dirhams ($2.5) apiece. That’s a 6.1% discount to its Sept. 12 close, and towards the lower end of a 9 dirhams to 9.90 dirhams price range.

The offer was oversubscribed multiple times, drawing in domestic and international investors. Allocations among institutions were skewed toward long-only accounts, local investors and those that have actively engaged with management, according to terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg News. The 20 largest accounts snapped up more than 70% of shares on offer.

The move will increase Du’s free float, help diversify its investor base and improve liquidity, the company has previously said. Mubadala will continue to hold just over 2% of Du post the offer.

The deal adds further impetus to secondary share sales, which have been picking up in the United Arab Emirates. Such deals have generated $5 billion in proceeds this year, surpassing proceeds from initial public offerings.

Du went public in 2006 in a 2.4 billion dirham IPO. Federal wealth fund Emirates Investment Authority remains its largest shareholder with a stake of just over 50%. Mubadala previously sold a 10% stake to EIA in 2019 for $630 million.

Mideast Stocks: Gulf bourses mixed ahead of Fed meeting; Egypt stocks rally

Mideast Stocks: Gulf bourses mixed ahead of Fed meeting; Egypt stocks rally

Gulf equities put in a mixed performance on Monday as higher oil prices lent some support, but investors stayed cautious ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting later this week.

Crude prices, a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets, rose, with Brent up 0.3% to $67.15 a barrel by 1250 GMT, underpinned by disruption risks from Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy facilities.

Dubai's benchmark stock index edged 0.2% higher, extending its gain to a third consecutive session, supported by a 6.9% rise in Gulf Navigation and a 2.4% advance in the emirate's largest lender, Emirates NBD.

The Abu Dhabi benchmark index was up for a third straight day, climbing 0.2%. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank rose 4% and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank added 2.3%, while Aldar Properties lost 1.1%. Blue-chip developer Aldar said it has sold Al Deem townhomes, generating over 1.8 billion dirhams ($490.09 million).

Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index was down for a fourth day, falling 0.1% to 10,427, its lowest level in nearly two years. Etihad Etisalat dropped 2% and Al Rajhi Bank slipped 2.1%. World's largest Islamic lender, Al Rajhi, declared an interim cash dividend of SAR 0.75 per share, 40% lower from a year earlier.

Fawaz Abdulaziz Al Hokair & Co soared 10%, its biggest intraday percentage gain in over two months. The retailer said on Sunday it has signed a 1.60 billion riyals ($426.53 million)banking facility agreement with Emirates NBD Bank – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to prepay debts.

The Qatari benchmark index eased 0.3% after two straight session of gains. Industries Qatar slipped 1.7% and telecom firm Ooredoo dropped 1.1%.

Markets expect a quarter-point cut from the Fed, which would take its key funds rate to 4.0%-4.25%. Investors will also parse Fed members' "dot plot" projections for rates and guidance from Chair Jerome Powell. Monetary policy shifts in the U.S. have a significant impact on Gulf markets, where most currencies are pegged to the dollar.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index rose for a fourth consecutive session, and was up 0.2%. Commercial International Bank advanced 1.5% and Arabian Cement gained 3.4%.