Americana Restaurants International Plc, the Middle Eastern operator of KFC and Pizza Hut outlets, is set to raise up to $1.8 billion from its initial public offering after saying it would likely price the share sale at the top end of a marketed range, according to terms of the deal obtained by Bloomberg News.
The books for the deal, a dual listing in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, are multiple times covered and orders below 2.62 dirhams or 2.68 riyals per share risk not being allocated, according to the terms. At that price the company would have a market capitalization of $6 billion.
A final price announcement is due on Wednesday.
Americana is set to be the biggest Saudi IPO this year after Nahdi Medical Co.’s $1.4 billion listing and will be the first company to have its shares traded in both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.
The Tadawul stock exchange had been encouraging firms for years to dual list, but none had done so before Americana. A successful deal is expected to set a precedent for other companies considering doing the same.
Middle Eastern IPOs have been on a tear this year, raising $18.5 billion so far and headed for their second-best year on record in terms of proceeds. It’s eclipsed only by 2019, which saw Aramco’s record $29.4 billion listing.
First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and SNB Capital are joint global coordinators for the IPO, while HSBC Holdings Plc and EFG Hermes are joint bookrunners. Rothschild & Co. is the financial adviser.
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