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One of the biggest F&B businesses in the region, Kuwait’s Americana Restaurants will offer a 30% stake via an IPO, which will be listed on ADX and Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul by December 6. The subscription will likely run from November 14 to 21 for retail investors in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and until November 22 for institutional investors.
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The final offering prices will be determined after the book-building process. Americana's shares are expected to start trading on the Tadawul stock exchange and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the two most prominent bourses in the Arab world, “on or around December 6”, the company said.
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Americana operates more than 1,800 restaurants across the region, as well as 25 food production sites across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Egypt. However now Saudis Public Investment Fund, and Mr. Alabbar, founder and managing director of Emaar Properties in Dubai, control Americana through their investment holding company Adeptio.
Why it matters
While capital markets in the US and Europe have slumped amid inflation woes and fears of a looming recession, equity markets in the GCC and broader Mena region have had a flurry of listings. In October, Saudi-based Power and Water Utility Company for Jubail and Yanbu, better known as Marafiq, said it was pushing ahead with plans to list its shares on the Tadawul.
