DUBAI: Mezzan Holding, the Kuwait-based FMCG company, said on Monday it plans to sell 30 per cent of its shares in an Initial Public Offering (IPO), the country’s first since 2009 financial crisis.
Mezzan Holding, which recorded revenues of 141 million Kuwaiti dinars (Dh1.79 billion) last year, will sell 88.95 million of its shares led by Watani Investment Company. The company didn’t disclose how much it proposed to raise.
“Upon Mezzan’s successful listing on the KSE, investors will have a unique opportunity to invest in the Gulf’s growing food, beverage, and FMCG sectors,” said Khalid Jassim Al Wazzan, chairman of Mezzan Holding.
The company operates in seven countries through 29 subsidiaries and 7,500 employees. The offering’s objective is to expand the company’s shareholder base, and will commence following the regulator Capital Markets Authority (CMA)’s approval.
Kuwaiti companies have stayed away from the IPO market since the financial crisis, which caused the main stock index to tumble 56 per cent from peak to trough.
“It seems that the government is more serious trying to move forward on political and economic front,” Saleem Khokhar, head of equities at National Bank of Abu Dhabi’s asset management group said.
However in August, the CMA approved the delayed listing of Viva Kuwait, the country’s number-two mobile operator by subscribers, which had conducted its IPO in September 2008.
Separately, Amanat, which is planning to list on the Dubai Financial Market, opened its subscription for its IPO on Monday. The subscription period will end on November 4, and it will get listed on the DFM on November 29.
