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29 March 2024

Dubai readies for first share offer in five years

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By Staff

Marka has begun receiving equity contributions from its founders soon after it received preliminary approval from the Securities and Commodities Authority in the UAE, CAPM Investment, the financial advisor and lead manager of Marka’s proposed initial public offering, announced in a media statement.

It is planned that the founders will subscribe to 45 per cent of the company’s equity, or the equivalent of Dh225 million (225 million shares) within the next few days, CAPM Investment noted in the statement.

The remaining 55 per cent equity (275 million shares) will then be offered to the public in an IPO at the same price of Dh1 per share, it added.

Mahdi Mattar, CEO of CAPM Investment, a subsidiary of Finance House, noted that Marka’s founders are an elite group of UAE nationals, including VIPs, businessmen and investors, along with a select group of non-local investors.

“The 100-plus founders have high confidence in the new operations to be rolled out by Marka, which are expected to significantly benefit from the attractive growth prospects of the fashion retail and F&B sectors in the UAE, in particular, and the GCC in general. Both sectors benefit from the record growth in the number of tourists visiting the country as well as the increasing demand from the locals and residents,” Mattar explained.

Mattar anticipates that the process of founders’ equity subscription in Marka’s capital will be completed within the next few days, to be followed by securing final approvals for the launch of the IPO in the forthcoming weeks.

Marka, which plans to list its shares on the Dubai Financial Market, will be the first IPO on the DFM in more than 5 years as well as the first IPO in the UAE of a firm exclusively focused on the fashion retail and F&B sectors.

The founders expect the IPO to be a huge success, given the significant growth prospects enjoyed by the company on the one hand, and the return of confidence to the financial markets on the other. Both institutional and individual demand for shares in top quality UAE listed companies is on the rise, the statement added.