Dubai’s public parking IPO aims for $429m

March 05, 2024 (MLN): The Dubai government’s latest initial public offering sold out as soon as books opened, with investors rushing to snap up shares in the city’s public-parking business, as Bloomberg reported.

Books for the listing of Parkin Co. PJSC, which could raise as much as 1.57 billion dirhams ($429 million), were covered across the price range within minutes of opening for subscriptions on Tuesday, according to terms of the deal obtained by Bloomberg show.

The price range for Parkin was set at 2 dirhams to 2.10 dirhams per share, valuing the firm at as much as $1.7bn, according to a statement.

The Dubai Investment Fund is selling 749.7m shares, or a 25% stake.

The subscription period closes on March 12 for retail investors and a day later for fund managers. The final price will be announced on March 14, and the stock is expected to start trading on March 21.

The sale of a stake in Parkin will be the sixth privatization by the Dubai government as part of a plan, unveiled at the end of 2021, to list 10 state-owned companies to boost trading volumes and match similar drives in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh.

Regional governments’ listings have propelled an IPO boom in the Gulf, with a number of offerings oversubscribed as investors focus more on the region amid high oil prices.

Many have been drawn by the high dividend yields offered by the companies, as well as the strong after-market performance.

In December, Dubai raised $315m from the IPO of the city’s taxi business, which had the highest over-subscription level ever for a listing in the city, according to Dubai Taxi Co.

Parkin expects demand for public parking to grow by 60% by 2033 amid a fast increase in Dubai’s population.

Expatriates have flocked to the city from both Asia and Europe, drawn by a slew of reforms including easier long-term residency rules and visas for job seekers.

The firm plans to pay a minimum dividend of either 100% of profit or free cash flow to equity for the full 2024 fiscal year, depending on which is higher.

Emirates NBD Capital, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and HSBC Holdings Plc are joint global coordinators for Parkin’s IPO, while Rothschild & Co. is an independent financial adviser.

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