DP World, the Dubai-owned port company with terminals from Britain to China, started a share sale to raise as much as US$4.32 billion in what looks set to be the Middle East's biggest initial public offering.
DP World, the fourth-biggest container port company in the world, will accept bids at between $1 and $1.30 a share in the global offering. The offer, which could be expanded to up to 20 percent of the firm's shares, is only open to citizens and residents of the United Arab Emirates and its Gulf Arab partners Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Shares will also be offered globally to institutional investors.
The IPO follows Dubai's purchase of stakes in Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange as it vies with Qatar and Bahrain to be the region's dominant financial centre. The state-owned Dubai Exchange will be renamed following Borse Dubai's September deal with Nasdaq. DP World shares will likely list on the bourse on November 26.
A sale of 3.32 million shares at the top end of the indicative price range would value the company at $21.6 billion. That is equivalent to a value of between 15 times and 19.4 times next year's forecast earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation.
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