Fertiglobe, Abu Dhabi’s leading nitrogen fertilizer producer and distributor, has announced the successful completion of its initial public offering (IPO) book building process and it raised about $795 million following the strong demand from international, regional, and local investors.
A subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and OCI, Fertiglobe is the world’s largest seaborne exporter of urea and ammonia combined, the Middle East and North Africa’s (MENA) largest producer of nitrogen fertilizers by production capacity, and an early mover in clean ammonia.
The price for the offering has been set at $0.69 per ordinary share (the final offer price), which means it was set in the middle of the range by the selling shareholders, to provide an attractive investment opportunity for new shareholders, the company said in its statement. By pricing at the middle range, ADNOC is again supporting the local market with another attractively priced IPO.
The company also announced that the offering size was confirmed at 1,145,582,011 ordinary shares, equivalent to 13.8 percent of Fertiglobe’s total issued share capital. The Offering will result in gross proceeds of over $795 million, upon settlement on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). Based on the Final Offer Price, Fertiglobe’s market capitalization upon listing is expected to be approximately $5.7 billion.
The Offering saw significant demand from qualified international, regional and local institutional investors and from retail investors in the UAE and the region and closed multiple times oversubscribed. The company attracted three cornerstone investors with commitments of $231 million. They include the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC as well as San Francisco-based activist investor Inclusive Capital Partners.
Total gross demand for the IPO amounted to over $17.4 billion, implying an oversubscription level of 22 times in aggregate, and 32 times for the qualified investor tranche, excluding cornerstone investors.
The IPO represents a new step in ADNOC and Fertiglobe achievements and contributes to promoting the growth and expansion of local financial markets and the local economy in line with the UAE’s “The Principles of the 50”, which chart a clear path for sustainable economic growth. The listing is the third-largest on the ADX.
Listing and start of trading on the ADX are expected to commence at 10:00 am (UAE time) on 27th October 2021, subject to customary closing conditions, under the symbol “FERTIGLOBE” and ISIN “AEF000901015”.
Upon listing on the ADX, OCI will indirectly continue to own a majority of Fertiglobe’s share capital, while ADNOC will indirectly own 36.2 percent of Fertiglobe’s share capital.
Citigroup, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), HSBC and Morgan Stanley acted as joint global coordinators of the IPO. EFG-Hermes, Goldman Sachs and International Securities were joint bookrunners. FAB was the lead receiving bank and Al Maryah Community Bank acted as a receiving bank.
