UAE’s district cooling firm Empower is looking to raise as much as $700 million in a Dubai initial public offering (IPO) that could see it list as soon as November, according to sources.
This comes as companies rush to take advantage of the strong demand for Middle Eastern listings.
The company has held initial meetings with investors to drum up interest, the sources said.
It is IPO is set to be Dubai’s fourth privatization as part of the emirate’s plans to bolster its capital markets and its standing as a financial center.
The size and timing of Empower’s IPO are still preliminary and subject to change. Empower may decide to proceed with the listing at the start of next year.
The most recent IPO in Dubai, a $1 billion float of the city’s road-toll operator Salik, drew $50 billion in orders and is currently trading around 10 percent above its offer price.
The government has also sold stakes in its main utility and a business park operator as part of a plan to list 10 state-owned companies in order to catch up with the IPO boom that swept Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi last year.
