IPO by UAE's Emaar Properties may raise US$1.58bn
Emaar Properties, owner of the world's biggest shopping centre, is seeking to raise as much as US$1.58 billion from the initial public offering of its malls unit in the United Arab Emirates' biggest IPO since 2007.
Emaar Properties, owner of the world's biggest shopping centre, is seeking to raise as much as US$1.58 billion from the initial public offering of its malls unit in the United Arab Emirates' biggest IPO since 2007.
Emaar Malls Group plans to sell two billion of its founders' shares, or about 15 per cent of its equity, in a price range of 2.5 dirhams (HK$5.27) to 2.9 dirhams each, according to a statement to the Dubai Financial Market.
The final price will be determined through a book-building process and will probably be set on September 29.
"At the upper end of range, this IPO would be very expensive," said Mohammed Ali Yasin, managing director of NBAD Securities in Abu Dhabi. "Emaar Malls would be priced at about 30 times 2014 earnings."
The IPO will be the UAE's biggest since port operator DP World's US$4.96 billion offering in 2007.
Emaar Malls is benefiting from growth in Dubai's economy, which may expand about 5 per cent this year, according to International Monetary Fund estimates.