Lulu Retail, the largest full-line retailer in the GCC, announced on Monday that it has raised the size of its initial public offering (IPO) from 25% to 30%.
The total number of shares offered has increased to over 3.09 billion (3,098,671,605) shares, up from the previous count of more than 2.58 billion (2,582,226,338) ordinary shares.
The additional 516,445,267 shares will be fully allocated to the qualified investor offering, which is only available to professional investors. The price range for the shares remains unchanged, between Dh1.94 and Dh2.04 per share, as stated on Monday.
If all shares are sold, the total size of the IPO is now expected to be between Dh6.01 billion and Dh6.32 billion.
Based on this offer price range, Lulu Retail is projected to have a market value between Dh20.04 billion and Dh21.07 billion.
The final offer price will be determined through a book-building process, which is expected to be announced on Wednesday. Lulu Retail shares are set to start trading on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on November 14.
Additionally, Lulu Retail announced that Masarrah Investment Company from Saudi Arabia will invest Dh250 million as a new cornerstone investor in the IPO. Previous cornerstone investors include the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund, Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, Emirates International Investment Company (EIIC), and Oman Investment Authority.
The total commitments from all cornerstone investors exceed Dh1 billion ($273 million), with EIIC committing to subscribe for $100 million. The shares held by cornerstone investors will be subject to a 180-day lock-up period.
“The strong presence of Lulu Retail across the GCC and our clear growth strategy have drawn a diverse group of investors. We are happy to increase the total size of the offering to meet the high demand from local, regional, and international investors, along with the addition of new cornerstone investors,” said Saifee Rupawala, CEO of Lulu Retail.
