IMG Worlds of Adventure owner reportedly mulling IPO to raise funds

Dubai’s Ilyas & Mustafa Galadari Group, owner of the world’s largest indoor theme park, is said to be considering a 2017 initial public offering as it seeks to raise funds, it has been reported.

The company, known as IMG, is working with JPMorgan Chase & Co. as the global coordinator for the transaction, sources told Bloomberg anonymously.

The Egyptian investment bank EFG-Hermes Holding SAE is also said to be involved, though a decision on the IPO has yet to be reached and the company may consider other fundraising options, it was said.

Fundraising in the region has dried up this year after the drop in oil prices affected demand for new public offerings. Share sales announced by companies in the Middle East and Africa have declined 44 percent this year from the same period in 2015, according to Bloomberg’s data.

However, rival theme park operator Dubai Parks and Resorts raised roughly $690m in its 2014 listing, valuing the company at $3.7bn.

IMG Worlds of Adventure, which opened this summer, spans across 1.5 million square feet with attractions based on Marvel’s Avengers and Cartoon Network’s Powerpuff Girls.

Earlier this year, chief executive officer Lennard Otto told Gulf Business that the theme park would break even after the first year of opening and make a return on investment after three or four years.

Read: IMG Worlds of Adventure’s CEO on recreating Dubai as a theme park hub

Otto has previously hinted that the company is considering other parks within the wider Middle East and North Africa region.