Alef Education Holding shares commenced trading on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) today. This makes it the first ed-tech company on the ADX and the first company to go public on the exchange in 2024.
The company’s shares began trading following its successful initial public offering, which raised AED1.89 billion ($514 million) through the sale of 1.4 billion shares, equivalent to 20 percent of the company, at AED1.35 per share.
At the time of listing, the company’s market capitalization reached AED9.45 billion ($2.56 billion). The IPO saw robust demand from investors with an oversubscription of 39 times. This came after the company’s retail tranche increased from 8 percent to 10 percent.
Abdulhamid Mohammed Saeed Alahmadi, chairman of Alef Education’s board of directors, and Geoffrey Alphonso, CEO of Alef Education, rang the market opening bell at today’s official listing ceremony. Ghannam Butti Al Mazrouei, ADX’s chairman, and Abdulla Salem Al Nuaimi, ADX’s CEO, also attended the ceremony alongside senior executives from both Alef Education and the ADX.
“The rapid success of Alef Education also reflects the environment the Abu Dhabi government has created to nurture tech startups and to support their capital markets journeys,” Alahmadi stated.
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For his part, Alphonso added: “The robust demand for shares of Alef Education is a vote of confidence in the company’s strong fundamentals and attractive growth prospects.” Alphonso also highlighted the company’s robust financial position and capacity to raise capital, stating that this positions it for further growth.
In the next two financial years, the company aims to pay a target minimum dividend amount of AED135 million in 2024 and AED135 million in 2025.
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