EFG Hermes announced on Saturday that its investment banking division has successfully concluded advisory as joint bookrunner on the initial public offering (IPO) of Dubai's exclusive toll-gate operator – Salik – on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM). The IPO saw Salik offer 1.9 billion ordinary shares, representing 24.9% of its share capital, at a price of AED 2 per share, implying total gross proceeds of over AED 3.7bn ($1bn) and a market capitalization of AED 15bn ($4.1bn). EFG Hermes acted as joint bookrunner on the transaction as part of the banking syndicate advising the issuer and the selling shareholder. Salik will commence trading today under the ticker Salik. Following the transaction, Salik will remain a state-owned company, with the Government of Dubai owning 75.1% of the company's share capital. Commenting on the transaction, Mohamed Fahmi, EFG Hermes Co-Head of Investment Banking, said, "We are incredibly proud to have been part of this landmark transaction, which has garnered significant traction across all its tranches and from investors across the globe. The United Arab Emirates continues to be an attractive investment hub, particularly in the ECM space, despite a turbulent global economic backdrop. It continues to offer investors a dollar denominated safe-haven with very attractive long-term fundamentals while the DFM continues to offer issuers and investors a healthy venue for value creation in public markets, and Salik's IPO is a testament to the market's attractiveness to a wide spectrum of investors. The issuance offers investors access to a capital efficient, world class toll-gate operator, with a robust track record, in one of the fastest growing cities in the world. Offering a very attractive investment proposition at a time where investors are looking for quality issuances, this IPO marks Dubai's resurgence as an important financial hub in the GCC and will hopefully sustain the positive momentum for further offerings on the DFM in 2022." The offering attracted significant local and international interest, reflecting the substantial investor confidence in Salik's business model and the long term prospects of Dubai. Total gross demand across the offering's tranches stood at an excess of AED 184.2bn ($50.2bn) – an oversubscription level of c.49x.
