Reuters – Dubai-based real estate investment trust Emirates REIT said it had expanded the size of its initial public offer of shares on NASDAQ Dubai, the emirate's first IPO since its financial crisis erupted in 2009, because of strong demand. Emirates REIT will raise $175m in the IPO, which was 3.5 times oversubscribed, by selling 128.68m new shares, it said in a statement on Sunday. In addition, up to 19.30m shares will be sold under over-allotment arrangements. The offer was priced at $1.36 per share, at the bottom of an indicative range of $1.36-1.56. Shares have been sold to a broad base of institutional investors in the United Arab Emirates, the Gulf and Britain, the company said. The IPO benefited from a strong recovery of Dubai's real estate and equity markets over the past 18 months. The REIT, which manages assets ranging from school buildings to business towers and retail space, had assets worth $333m at the end of last year, up from $213m at the end of 2012. The offer price and size imply Emirates REIT will have a market capitalisation of $381m and a free float of 46% of its shares. Proceeds of the IPO will primarily be used to fund future acquisition opportunities, while a portion will go towards investment in existing assets, the company said. The shares will list on NASDAQ Dubai this Tuesday. Before the IPO, Dubai Islamic Bank owned 30.9% of the firm, two units of the Dubai Holding conglomerate owned a combined 27.1%, Emirates NBD owned 4.5%, Egyptian investment bank EFG-Hermes held 4.2% and Dubai property developer Deyaar had 3.4%.
