Dubai’s Empower IPO raises AED2.6bn amid huge demand

Dubai / WAM 

Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation PJSC (Empower), on Wednesday announced that, following the successful completion of the book-build and public subscription process for its initial public offering (IPO), it has set the final offer price for its IPO at AED1.33 per share, at the top of the price range.

Following two successful upsize announcements, a total of 2,000,000,000 ordinary shares (offer shares), equivalent to 20.0 percent of Empower’s total issued share capital, were offered.

This will result in approximately AED2.7 billion ($724 million) of gross proceeds for Dubai Electricity and Water Authority PJSC (Dewa) and Emirates Power Investment LLC (Emirates Power), an indirectly wholly owned subsidiary of Dubai Holding LLC (Dubai Holding), (together the “selling shareholders”) upon settlement. Following the completion of the Empower IPO, Dewa and Emirates Power will continue to own 56.0 percent and 24.0 percent of Empower’s existing share capital, respectively.

Upon listing, Empower will become the world’s largest district cooling services provider on a stock exchange.

The offering saw significant investor interest, with total gross demand for the IPO over AED124.6 billion at the final offer price, implying an oversubscription level of c.47x times for all tranches combined at the final offer price. The qualified investor tranche attracted demand across the globe of c.AED105.0 billion, implying an oversubscription level of 46x at the final offer price.

The retail offering saw tremendous appetite from local investors with demand collected in excess of AED19.6 billion implying oversubscription levels of 49x. The overwhelming investor demand underlines Empower’s compelling investment proposition and reflects strong confidence in Dubai’s long-term growth prospects and critical infrastructure.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Chairman of Empower, said, “The huge success of the privatisation programme so far shows that Dubai is well on its way to achieving the vision of the wise leadership to increase the total volume of its stock markets to AED3 trillion. A vital part of the entire financial ecosystem is the process by which companies raise capital, including by going public.”

This incredible investor interest is deeply encouraging and illustrates that Dubai is a thriving, dynamic international financial centre with real depth and growing demand for its capital markets. It demonstrates Empower’s strong fundamentals and our company’s value proposition.”

Ahmad Bin Shafar, Chief Executive Officer of Empower, added, “This is a historic moment for both Empower and Dubai, and marks an important milestone in the emirate’s ambition to be a leading international financial centre. It reflects the deep confidence of investors in the role that Empower plays in supporting the city’s fast-paced economic growth. Mega-trends such as expansion in infrastructure, a rising population and warmer climates continue to accelerate the need for more efficient and sustainable cooling at scale. Empower’s strategy is to support Dubai’s energy transition, by providing access to sustainable cooling solutions, increasing energy efficiency and encouraging responsible energy consumption. We look forward to continuing to deliver on our strategy as a listed business.”

The UAE Strategic Investment Fund (through Emirates NBD AM SPC), Shamal Holding, and the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund (ADPF) (together, the “Cornerstone Investors”), collectively subscribed for 12.6 percent of the final offer size. Subject to certain customary exceptions, the Cornerstone Investors’ shares are subject to a 180-day lock-up arrangement from listing day.

Furthermore, as part of the offering to professional investors and other investors in several countries, including in the UAE, and outside the USA in reliance on Regulation S (the “qualified investor offering”), and in accordance with both the Companies Law and the Dubai Law, five percent of the offering was reserved for the offer to the Emirates Investment Authority (the “EIA”). Five percent of the offering was reserved for the offer to the Pensions and Social Security Fund of Local Military Personnel (the “Fund”).

Empower is expected to commence trading on the DFM on November 15, under the symbol “Empower” and ISIN AEE01134E227. At the listing, the company will have a market capitalisation of AED13.3 billion ($3.6 billion).

Investors who participated in the UAE retail offering will be notified of their allocation of shares via SMS no later than November 14.

Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Emirates NBD Capital PSC, and Merrill Lynch International were appointed as joint global coordinators (the “joint global coordinators”) and EFG Hermes UAE Limited (acting jointly with EFG Hermes UAE LLC) had been appointed as a joint bookrunner (together with the Joint Global Coordinators, the “joint bookrunners”). Moelis & Company UK LLP DIFC Branch had been appointed as the Independent Financial Advisor to Empower.

Emirates NBD Bank PJSC was appointed as the Lead Receiving Bank. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC, Ajman Bank, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates Islamic Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Mashreq Bank, MBank and Sharjah Islamic Bank were appointed as Receiving Banks.