Al-Babtain Power & Telecommunication Company today said that its Initial Public Offering (IPO) will open tomorrow, Saturday, November 4, 2006. The ten-day IPO will remain open for subscription till Monday November 13, 2006.
Each share is priced at SAR 40. The minimum number of shares that an individual investor can subscribe is 10 shares and a maximum of 25000 shares. The minimum subscription amount is SAR 400 and maximum subscription amount is SAR 1,000,000.
The subscription forms are available at the branches of 11 “receiving banks”, namely: The Saudi British Bank (SABB), Banque Saudi Fransi, The National Commercial Bank, Saudi Hollandi Bank, Bank Al Bilad, The Saudi Investment Bank, Bank Al Jazira, Arab National Bank, Riyad Bank, Samba Financial Group and Al Rajhi Banking & Investment Corporation. Investors can also apply through the internet, phones or ATMs at any of the receiving banks.
The share capital of -Babtain Power & Telecommunication Company is SAR 270 million (US$72 million) consisting of 27 million shares with a nominal value of SAR 10 each. The IPO comprises 8.1 million shares – representing 30% of its share capital. HSBC is the financial adviser and lead manager for the IPO and SABB is the sole underwriter of the IPO and also a selling agent.
On the eve of the IPO the Company also outlined its growth potential in the Middle East & North Africa power sector which makes it one of Al-Babtain’s main target markets.
Mr. Mohammad Al-Babtain, Chairman, Al-Babtain Power & Telecommunication Company, outlined the Company’s sectoral growth potential. He said: “We are focused on two vertical sectors: Power & Telecom. In Power, to meet the expected 6% growth in regional demand over the next 5 years, the total installed capacity will have to increase by about 80,000 MW.”
The Gulf Electricity Interconnection Grid and the Arab Electricity Interconnection Grid that will link Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey as well as North African Grid that will link Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco will require significant distribution towers. Al-Babtain is uniquely positioned to benefit from these projects since we have operations in both Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
He added, “Within our home market Saudi Arabia, the development of electricity sector is a crucial element in the Kingdom’s economic growth. Saudi Arabia has one of the world’s highest per capita consumption of electricity. Add to that the ambitious industrialization plans and the needs of a growing population. Saudi Arabia will have to expand its Power generation capacity and develop its transmission and distribution networks at a faster rate. This presents a wide opportunity for Al-Babtain’s products and services.”
Al-Babtain’s sales and distribution channels in Saudi Arabia include direct sales to Government and Quasi-Government parties in addition to sales to reputable local and international contractors.
In Telecom, the Saudi GSM network is expanding further as Saudi Telecom Company (STC) announced the possibility of awarding third mobile telephone license during the first quarter of 2007. In addition, both UAE and Egypt have announced that a second and third mobile telephone licence respectively will be issued in the near future, thus offering Al-Babtain, and its subsidiary Al-Babtain LeBlanc, significant growth opportunities.
About Al-Babtain Power & Telecommunication Company:
An ISO:9000 company, Al-Babtain operates in the high-growth power and telecom sectors. In the Power Sector, the Company designs, manufactures and supplies transmission towers and monopoles, as well as distribution poles. The company also caters to the outdoor lighting industry, manufacturing and supplying poles, high masts and luminaries that are used on roads and highways.
In the telecom sector, Al-Babtain carries out engineering, manufacturing and installation of communication towers (both Lattice Type & Monopole) catering to projects such as GSM, Microwave, Roof Top Structures, Antenna Mounts within the kingdom, neighboring Arab states and North African countries.
Al-Babtain also specializes in engineering and manufacturing structural steel, catering to the Petrochemicals, Oil and Gas, Cement, Industrial and Commercial manufacturing sector, providing a total solution for engineering and manufacturing for varied applications
