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28 March 2024

Drake & Scull's DFM listing on March 16

By listing on DFM, DSI aims to be a key player in the contracting industry. (EB FILE)

Published
By Sona Nambiar

Drake & Scull International (DSI) will be listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) on March 16.

The company closed its initial public offer (IPO) on July 17, 2008.
The Dh1.2 billion IPO was oversubscribed 101 times, mobilising approximately Dh124bn. DSI was incorporated in November 2008.

"There are varied reasons for the delay [in listing]," a senior official told Emirate Business.

"We cannot point our finger at any one reason. We have had to fulfill a lot of stringent paperwork from both the DFM and the market regulator Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA)," said Zeina Tabari, DSI Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at DSI.

Khaldoun Tabari, CEO and Vice-Chairman of the company, said the listing will enable the company to become "a key player in the contracting industry due to its strong financial position and focused growth strategy" and 'the main focus of our strategy is to expand across the Mena region".

"This will put us in excellent shape at a time when certain markets are witnessing economic slowdown. Our aspiration now is to expand our civil contracting services, in addition to our traditional MEP activities in order to accommodate the demand in these growing markets," he said in a statement.

In July 2008, DSI offered 55 per cent of the shares to the public. The shares were priced at Dh1 each plus an offering cost of Dh0.02 per share, with a minimum subscription of 20,000 shares.

More than 45,600 subscribers applied for DSI shares, investing funds of approximately Dh124bn.

"We had a very successful IPO and we were oversubscribed 101 times. It was a perfect time to float the company. We refunded all the oversubscriptions on July 31," she added. "We wanted to raise Dh1.2bn and we raised more than that amount. The company was incorporated in November 2008," she said.

Post-listing and board approval, DSI is seeking to snap up three companies in Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. It has also in the process of signing up two letters of intent for IWP projects in Sudan and Libya. DSI is a leading UAE-based mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) contracting, infrastructure, water and power (IWP) and civil contracting services. It was expected to list on the DFM before end-2008.