Gulf Domino’s Pizza Operator IPO Books Said Covered Within Hours

(Bloomberg) —

Most Read from Bloomberg

Putin May Win in Ukraine, But the Real War Is Just Starting
Putin Gets Unexpected Pushback From Ally Over War in Ukraine
Giant Cruise Ship’s Maiden Voyage May Be to a Scrapyard
Housing’s Slowdown Has Economy on the Edge
Bitcoin, Ether Bounce Off Lows After Record-Breaking Rout

The Saudi initial public offering of the Middle East Domino’s Pizza franchise has received orders for all shares on offer within hours of opening its books, according to people familiar with the matter.

Alamar Foods’ order book is fully covered, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. Private equity firm Carlyle Group is seeking to raise as much as $325 million from the listing of the fast-food company on the Saudi stock exchange.

An external representative for Alamar Foods wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Investor appetite for local listings remains strong, though a rally in Middle Eastern equities has faded over the past month as fears of recessions gripped global markets. Saudi Arabian stocks briefly erased this year’s gains on Monday, trading about 18% below a high in May, before rebounding as bargain hunters stepped in.

Alamar Foods set the price range for its IPO at 103 riyals to 115 riyals per share, implying a market value of as much as 2.9 billion riyals ($773 million.) IPO books opened on Monday for institutional investors.

Saudi Arabia’s stock market is one of the most active in the Middle East and since allowing foreigners to directly buy stocks in 2015 has attracted some of the biggest global investors. The Saudi exchange has been working for several years to attract listings from companies in the region as it tries to position itself as the main venue for stock trading in Middle East.

Carlyle is selling a 41.7% stake in Alamar, or 10.6 million shares, to institutional and retail investors. The US buyout firm acquired its stake from Saudi-based firm AlJammaz Group in 2011 for an undisclosed amount.

Story continues

More details:

Institutional subscription period: June 20–27
Individual investor subscription period: July 20-21
HSBC Saudi Arabia is the financial adviser, bookrunner, lead manager and underwriter
To view the source of this information click here
Click here for link to statement

(Updates with books covered and background in first four paragraphs.)