Lulu Retail Holdings, which runs one of the Middle East's biggest hypermarket chains, kicked off an initial public offering, which bankers hail as the UAE's largest this year. The offering by the conglomerate that runs more than 240 stores in the six countries belonging to the Gulf Co-operation Council comes during a retail spending boom in the region.
The listing is set to run from Oct. 28 to Nov. 5, and will offer more than 2.582 billion shares.
The listing is expected to start trading on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on Nov. 14, Lulu's IPO document showed.
According to two sources, the offering could raise between $1.7 billion-$1.8 billion for the 25 per cent stake.
Founded in 1974 by Indian businessman Yusuff Ali, Lulu joins other grocery firms that have listed, such as UAE-based Spinneys this year, and Saudi grocery retailer BinDawood Holding in 2020.
"We are confident that Lulu will continue to be where the world comes to shop," Chief Executive Saifee Rupawala was quoted in the IPO document as saying, as he pointed to a $100-billion market opportunity presented by GCC retail over the next five years.
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