Securities & Investment Company (SICO), the Bahrain based regionally focused investment bank, today announced the successful closing of the recent Egyptian IPO of the automotive Group, Ghabbour Auto, in which SICO acted as the sole Placement Agent for the offer in Bahrain.
The IPO consisted of an institutional private placement offer, which closed on June 25, 2007 and a public offer to retail investors, which closed on July 2, 2007. The private placement closed at a final price per share of EGP 37 (US$ 6.49) and seven times oversubscribed, while the public offer closed three times oversubscribed.
As the sole Placement Agent for Bahrain for the private placement element of the offering, SICO promoted and placed Ghabbour Auto shares with institutional and high net worth individuals from Bahrain.
Formally announced on 7 June 2007, Ghabbour said it would offer between 23.7 million and 27.7 million shares in the private placement, with the price for the shares being decided through a book building exercise, where investors nominate the price they are prepared to pay and how many shares they wish to purchase. It was also announced that the private placement share price would determine the price of the public offering, which was accordingly set at EGP 37.
Anthony Mallis, Chief Executive Officer, SICO, said, “SICO’s ability to offer diverse array of investment opportunities to its clients and to facilitate complex transactions has been amply demonstrated by the mandate of Ghabbour IPO. The private placement was crucial in establishing a good price, so we are naturally delighted with SICO’s successful role in supporting the regional book building exercise which was seven times oversubscribed.”
Securities & Investment Company is a securities house offering a selective range of investment banking services, including asset management, brokerage, market-making and corporate finance, on a regional basis and with a particular emphasis on Bahrain. SICO was incorporated in Bahrain in 1995 and holds an investment-banking license from the Bahrain Monetary Agency.
