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ABU DHABI / WAM
Alef Education Holding plc announced the price range for the sale of its shares and the start of the subscription period for its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Main Market of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX).
In a statement, the company said that the offer price range has been set between AED1.30 and AED1.35 per Share, implying a market capitalisation at the time of listing between AED9.10 billion ($2.48 billion) and AED9.45 billion ($2.57 billion). Alef will offer 1.4 billion (1,400,000,000) Shares, each with a nominal value of AED0.01, which are being made available in the offering, representing 20% of the company’s issued share capital. As a result, the total offering size is expected to be between AED1.82 billion ($496 million) and AED1.89 billion ($515 million).
All Shares to be offered are existing shares held by Tech Nova Investment – Sole Proprietorship LLC and Kryptonite Investments LLC, who reserve the right to amend the size of the offering at any time before the end of the subscription period subject to applicable laws and the approval of the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA).
The company expects to distribute a minimum dividend of AED135 million to all other shareholders for each of its financial years ending December 31 and 2025, implying a dividend yield of c. 7.42% at the top of the price range and c. 7.14% at the bottom of the price range. The IPO subscription period started on May 28, and is expected to close on June 4 for Individual Investors (First Tranche) and June 5 2024 for Professional Investors (Second Tranche).
The final offer price will be determined following the book-building process and is expected to be announced on June 6. Admission of shares to trading on the ADX is anticipated to occur on or around June 12. The Offering complies with Shariah principles, and the Internal Shariah Supervision Committee of First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC has issued a pronouncement to this effect.
Geoffrey Alphonso, Chief Executive Officer of Alef Education, commented, “Our investment proposition has been incredibly well received by the market, with significant interest in our offering since announcing our intention to float. We look forward to announcing the final offer price next week and are excited to welcome new shareholders as we embark on our next phase of growth.”