Middle East Equity

Banks wrapped up the $730m-equivalent IPO of Abu Dhabi satellite company Yahsat on Thursday with high levels of demand, particularly from local investors.

The IPO of Al Yah Satellite Communications Co, the Abu Dhabi satellite company, is covered throughout the initial price range, on a 30% deal size, according to sources close to the deal.

The IPO of Yahsat, the Abu Dhabi satellite company, will be the largest flotation in the United Arab Emirates for almost four years, according to terms published on Sunday.

Yahsat, the satellite company owned by Mubadala, will attempt a listing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market (ADX). The company is seeking to list at a time when the European IPO market is difficult, but there is hope that strong local interest and emerging market equity investors will see the deal across the line.

An undisclosed shareholder has sold Dh1.1bn ($296m) of stock in Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, one of the UAE’s biggest banking groups, through an accelerated bookbuild.

Equity capital markets participants are predicting the return of exchangeable bonds as a way for large corporates to sell crossholdings or subsidiaries to raise funds without offering the big discounts to investors that come with a block trade. Two deals this week highlighted the importance of the product, a €538m deal by French utility Engie, selling shares in Gaztransport Et Technigaz (GTT) and bonds exchangeable into its shares, and a $1.64bn financing package sold by Adnoc, selling shares and exchangeable bonds in subsidiary Adnoc Distribution.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc) raised $1.64bn from the sale of exchangeable bonds and shares in Adnoc Distribution, its listed fuel distribution subsidiary, having attracted a “massive” amount of demand from investors, according to a source close to the deal.

Banks are training their Middle East efforts on Saudi Arabia, where they are hoping to capitalise on growing capital markets activity. The result is a slug-fest for the best banking talent, but firms must learn the lessons of the past, writes David Rothnie.

Fiverr International has become of the latest Israeli software company to tap the US convertible bond market for financing during the pandemic, raising $400m.

Crédit Agricole has sold a 4% share stake in Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) to two unnamed investors for around €330m, ending an association which dates back to 1977.

Ignitis Grupe, the state-owned Lithuanian energy and utility company, has opened books on its IPO on the Nasdaq Vilinus and London Stock Exchange. The company’s listing will benefit from a framework agreement signed with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, under which it will participate in the IPO.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co sold $1bn worth of shares in Adnoc Distribution, its listed chain of petrol stations and shops, through an institutional placement on Monday night, the largest ever block trade by a listed company from the Gulf Cooperation Council area.