Lulu Retail Holdings has expanded its share offering in its Abu Dhabi IPO from 25% to 30%, aiming to raise up to $1.72 billion, in what is set to become the UAE’s largest listing this year.
The offer increase was a result of the “significant level of demand received from international, regional and local investors, and the inclusion of additional cornerstone investors to the IPO,” Bloomberg has reported.
The news outlet also claimed that the company is set to price the IPO at the top end of the range, amounting to Dh2.04 ($0.56) per share. Such a price would imply a market capitalisation for the grocer of Dh21.1 billion following the listing.
The group originally planned to list 2.58 billion shares, representing 25% of its total share capital, in a three-part IPO.
Lulu has already secured investor agreements totalling Dh753 million ($205 million) from firms including the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund, Bahrain’s Mumtalakat, the Oman Investment Authority, and Abu Dhabi’s Emirates International Investment Company (EIIC). The latter has committed to subscribe to $100 million.
The company plans to distribute 75% of its annual distributable profits after tax as dividends, paid semi-annually. The first dividend for the six months ending December 31 2024 is expected in the first half of 2025.
