The UAE Expects More Listings After Blockbuster Natural Gas IPO

Abu Dhabi could see up to eight more listings this year after what became the largest initial public offering in the world since the start of the year when ADNOC listed its natural gas business unit.

ADNOC raised $2.5 billion from the listing last week, with the offering 50 times oversubscribed and investors placing orders for $124 billion in total. The issue was fully subscribed just hours after the offering was first announced.

The listing gave the company a market capitalization of some $50 billion, close to the upper end of the price range set by the parent company ahead of the listing.

The upcoming listings are from various industries, spanning technology, media, and asset management, Bloomberg reported, citing the director general of economic affairs at Abu Dhabi’s department of economic development.

“These are sizable companies,” Sameh Al Qubaisi told Bloomberg. “Some are high-growth companies that have only been there for five or six years, the disruptors.”

While Al Qubaisi declined to mention any names, he said some of these companies planned to list between 10% and 20% of their stock.

The gas unit of ADNOC was not even a separate business until the parent company decided to list it amid renewed interest in fossil fuel investment. The unit was only separated and set up as a subsidiary at the beginning of this year.

ADNOC Gas has a production capacity of some 10 billion cubic feet daily and operates a pipeline network of over 2,000 miles. The new company said it expects to pay its new shareholders a total of $3.25 billion this year.

The gas listing continues a strong year for IPOs in the Middle East in 2022. Listings in the region last year raised a total of $24 billion, Bloomberg recalls, constituting more than half of all listing proceeds for the wider Middle East, Europe, and North Africa region.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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