Dubai is preparing for its next big initial public offering (IPO), when gate operator Salik will sell 1.5 billion shares or 20 percent of its share capital.
Salik, which was transformed into a public joint stock company in June, operates eight gates in Dubai and is affiliated with the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and TECOM Group in moving towards listing on the Dubai Financial Market.
Salik expects to achieve significant revenue growth as more vehicles pass through its gates. As of the end of April, it registered the crossing of 3.6 million vehicles, of which 1.8 million vehicles were Dubai registered.
In an announcement published today, the government said it will sell 1.5 billion shares in Salik and reserves the right to adjust the size of the offering.
The Dubai government will also retain 80 percent following the IPO, at which point the paid-in capital of Salik will be 75 million dirhams, according to the announcement issued today. The subscription size can be increased at any time before the end of the subscription period.
The offer price will be published before the start of the offering, which begins on September 13 and ends on September 20 for the first and third segments of subscribers. The second batch closes on September 21.
Last November, the Dubai government announced plans to list 10 state-owned companies to increase the size of its financial market to about 3 trillion dirhams ($817 billion), in addition to the establishment of a Market Maker Fund worth two billion dirhams to encourage the listing of more private companies from sectors such as energy, logistics, and retail.
DEWA raised 22.41 billion dirhams from the IPO, making it the largest public offering in the Middle East and Europe since Saudi Aramco went public in 2019.
TECOM, the operator of Dubai’s business districts, made its debut on the Dubai Financial Market in early July, having raised 1.7 billion dirhams from its IPO last month.
