ALBAWABA — Seeking to raise around $2.5 billion next month, ADNOC Gas raised the number of shares in its initial public offering by 25 percent on Monday, setting the stage for the year’s biggest IPO.
ADNOC Gas, a subsidiary of the United Arab Emirates' Abu Dhabi National Oil Company formed by merging ADNOC’s gas processing and liquefied natural gas subsidiaries, became operational on Jan. 1 this year.
The offering was expanded, from 4 to 5 percent of its issued share capital or roughly 3.84 billion shares, after investors snapped up the initial three billion shares within an hour of the shares going on sale last week.
To create a "supportive trading environment for the company’s stock post-admission", roughly 84 percent of the shares will be available to institutional investors, 12 percent to retail investors and 4 percent to U.A.E. nationals residing in the country who are ADNOC employees or retirees.
The price range remains unchanged at 2.25 to 2.43 dirhams per share, valuing the company at $50.8 billion at the top end of the price range.
The final offer price is due to be announced on Friday, before the shares launch on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on March 13.
The IPO is on an accelerated timeline, as its parent company hopes ADNOC Gas will increase its share of the European gas market as the Eurozone looks for alternatives to Russian oil and gas related imports following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which sent European countries scrambling to find alternative suppliers.
According to Bloomberg, First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC and HSBC Holdings Plc are the lead banks on the IPO. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC, Arqaam Capital Limited, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank AG, EFG-Hermes and International Securities are joint bookrunners, while Moelis & Company is the independent financial adviser.
