Al Ansari Financial Services, the UAE foreign exchange and money transfer company, has completed the book-building and subscription process for its initial public offering (IPO).
It has set the final offer price for its IPO at $0.28 (AED 1.03) per share, at the top of the previously announced price range.
The global offering attracted considerable demand from both the qualified investor offering and the UAE retail offer with total gross demand reaching more than $3.45 billion (AED 12.7 billion).
The UAE retail offer, which was increased from 5 percent to 7.5 percent of the total offering size, received “very high demand” and was oversubscribed by roughly 44 times.
Mohamed Ali Al Ansari Chairman Al Ansari Financial Services
“The remarkable investor interest we drew from across the UAE, regional and international investors demonstrate the strong brand reputation that Al Ansari Financial Services has built over its long and rich history. It is also a testament to the attractiveness of the UAE and wider GCC economies and the investment community’s confidence in Dubai’s public equity markets and the DFM. I would like to personally welcome all our new shareholders, including our cornerstone investor, National Bonds, and invite them to become strategic partners as we realize our growth ambitions and develop and commit to an actionable ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) strategy as we create greater sustainable long-term value for all our stakeholders.”
National Bonds Corporation, owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai, the investment arm of the Dubai government, committed to a cornerstone investment worth $54 million (Dh200 million) in the IPO. Al Ansari expects to start trading on the Dubai Financial Market on April 6, as per the statement.
“Through this IPO and as a publicly listed company, we are offering investors an opportunity to be part of a business that has significant growth opportunities driven by the UAE and other GCC countries’ favorable macroeconomic and industry trends. At the same time, the Group plans to reward its shareholders through generous dividend distributions, as defined in our dividend policy,” commented Mr. Rashed Ali Al Ansari, Group Chief Executive Officer of Al Ansari Financial Services.
“Al Ansari Financial Services is expected to commence trading under the symbol “ALANSARI” and ISIN “AEE01198A238”. Investors that participated in the UAE Retail Offering will be notified of their allocation of shares via SMS on 29 March 2023,” the company added.
