EFG Hermes completes advisory on $6.1 bn DEWA IPO

EFG Hermes’ investment banking division has successfully completed its advisory on Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (DEWA) $6.1bn initial public offering (IPO) on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) – the largest ever listing in the Middle East since 2019 and a first-of-its-kind transaction of a public company in Dubai.

DEWA has listed nine billion shares — representing 18 per cent of its share capital — at a price of Dhs2.48 per share, implying a market capitalisation of Dhs124bn and making it the largest company on the DFM. DEWA’s shares began trading under the ticker ‘DEWA UH EQUITY’.

Read: Dubai utility surges after pulling off year’s second-biggest IPO

The listing of the Dubai utilities giant falls in line with Dubai’s plans to take 10 state-owned companies public this year, as part of its efforts to deepen and diversify the capital market by bringing the index’s market capitalisation to Dhs3tn, and in turn pave the way for stronger, more transparent governance structures.

 “We’re honoured to have advised on this historic listing — not just for the DFM but the Middle East as a whole — which has spurred unprecedented foreign and local investment into the market by giving them first-time access to Dubai’s burgeoning energy sector,” said Mohamed Fahmi, EFG Hermes’ Co-Head of Investment Banking. “We believe that the DEWA offering will reignite activity on the DFM and the strong investor appetite is testament to the interest of all investor types in the DFM and the overall Dubai growth story.”

Fahmi added, “With a healthy pipeline of IPOs lined up, the UAE boasts numerous and diverse investment opportunities for clients, and we’re expecting it to become a regional hub for investors in the near future. The transaction follows an extremely successful year of executions for us in the GCC where we advised on landmark listings such as ACWA Power’s offering on Tadawul, ADNOC Drilling’s milestone IPO on the ADX, and Fertiglobe’s listing on the ADX.”

The last year was an exceptional one for GCC capital markets, with EFG Hermes’s investment banking team leading significant transactions in the region. The division closed 41 equity capital markets, debt capital markets, and merger and acquisitions’ transactions, with an aggregate value of over Dhs7.9bn throughout its footprint in 2021.

In March, EFG Hermes Holding also reported its financial results for 2021, with the group’s top line surpassing the EGP6bn mark for the first time, reflecting a 12 per cent hike year-on-year (YoY). The company’s net profit after tax and minority interest was EGP1.5bn, another 12 per cent YoY gain.

Read: Egypt’s EFG Hermes Holding reports EGP1.5bn in net profit in 2021