EFG Hermes, a leading financial services corporation in Frontier Emerging Markets (FEM), has announced that its investment banking team had successfully completed advisory on Dr Sulaiman Al Habib Group’s $700 million Initial Public Offer (IPO) on Tadawul.
Al Habib Group, a private healthcare operator, is one of the largest in Saudi Arabia with operations across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain. The group currently owns and operates seven healthcare facilities (six of which are in KSA and one in UAE) and thirteen pharmacies (twelve of which are in KSA and one in UAE).
While operating and managing another seven healthcare centres (six of which are in KSA and one in Bahrain), it also provides a range of medical and technical services (mainly for third parties).
The Al Habib Group began trading on Tuesday, March 17th with the Bloomberg stock symbol “SULAIMAN AB Equity”. The transaction saw the group offer 52.5 million shares (representing 15% of its share capital) to investors at SAR 50.00 per share.
The Co-Chief Executive Officer, Investment Bank, EFG Hermes, Mohamed Ebied, explained that taking Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Group to market bookends a series of successful deals it has managed to execute in Saudi Arabia, and is further proof that its strategy to ramp up the operations in KSA is bearing fruit.
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He said, “In light of the current global equity market conditions, the successful close of this transaction and the stock’s strong performance on the first day of trading (up 10%), underscore both the strong fundamentals of Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Group. Our ability to attract global capital and funnel it into local investment opportunities through unmatched book-building and advisory services.
“In the last 12 months alone, EFG Hermes has advised on a series of landmark equity transactions in the GCC such as the IPOs of ACC, Finablr, and Aramco. Expanding both our advisory services and execution capabilities in KSA has allowed us to capitalize on the market’s continued momentum following the Kingdom’s upgrade to emerging market status on both the FTSE and MSCI indices.
According to him, following EFG Hermes’ advisory role on the Aramco IPO, the Firm became the 28th largest ECM advisor in the world and 20th largest when considering EMEA alone.
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Mohamed Fahmi, Co-Head of Investment Banking at EFG Hermes, explained that with the global market dominated by the bears, a development he said was caused by the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) across the globe.
“We remain confident that the strong fundamentals that underpin Saudi Arabia and FEM markets, in general, will continue to drive economic growth across the region,” he said.
About EFG Hermes: With a current footprint spanning thirteen countries across four continents, EFG Hermes started in Egypt and has grown over 35 years of success to become a leading financial services corporation with access to emerging and frontier markets. Drawing on our proven track record and a team of more than 5,500 talented employees, we provide a wide spectrum of financial services that include investment banking, asset management, securities brokerage, research and private equity to the entire MENA region.
