Legal Advisors, Baker McKenzie advise on KSA’s first full international IPO
$748 million IPO closes on Arabian Centres Company transaction
Legal Advisors, Abdulaziz Alajlan & Partners and London firm Baker McKenzie have advised on a $748 million IPO on behalf of Saudi shopping mall giant Arabian Centres Company.
In a statement, the parties said the IPO has an implied market capitalisation of $3.3 billion and is the first IPO in Saudi Arabia with a full international offering, including an offering into the United States pursuant to Rule 144A.
The deal closed last week and is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s largest IPO in four years.
Adding that Arabian Centres Company is the largest shopping mall owner in Saudi Arabia with a portfolio which includes 19 shopping malls with a total of 109 million visits per year, the firms added the transaction, “is believed to be the first Saudi IPO with pre-deal investor education, marketed in a manner consistent with international practice. It is also the first IPO in Saudi to take advantage of the newly introduced price stabilization regime, also in keeping with international practice.”
The team was led by Robert Eastwood and Karim Nassar of the Equity Capital Markets group of Legal Advisors in Riyadh and EMEA Head of Capital Markets Adam Farlow and Senior Associate George Marshall, both in Baker McKenzie, London, noted the statement.
“The transaction is emblematic of the growth of Saudi’s capital markets and proof that the positive regulatory changes in recent years are attracting foreign investors to the market,” said Eastwood.
Farlow added that other the Arabian Centres Company fundraiser should lead to others.
“This is a first of a kind transaction in Saudi Arabia, and with the country looking to diversify its economy, we expect this to be the blueprint for how Saudi-listed international transactions are done in the Kingdom going forward,” he said.
