Citigroup sees strong Middle East IPO pipeline running into 2024

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Bankers in the Middle East aren’t getting much of a summer break this year, with a number of initial public offerings slated for the fourth quarter and a strong pipeline already building for 2024, according to Citigroup.

The Wall Street firm has received a number of requests for proposals for offerings as the region continues its run as a hot spot for share sales, Rudy Saadi, head of Middle East and North Africa equity capital markets, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

“We expect to launch a number of IPOs in Dubai and in Saudi Arabia post the summer,” he said, without giving a number of deals. “The pipeline is solid, it’s promising for post the summer and 2024.”

The IPO pipeline

IPOs in the Middle East have fetched $5.1bn so far this year, exceeding volumes seen during the same period in nine of the last 10 years, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Only 2022 was busier, with $14.bn raised this time last year, according to the data.

Dubai Roads & Transport Authority’s taxi and parking businesses are among entities preparing to go public, Bloomberg News has reported. The company recently invited banks to pitch for roles and a listing of the taxi business may happen as soon as this year, which would mark Dubai’s first privatisation in roughly 12 months.

Advanced Inhalation Rituals, the owner of shisha brand Al Fakher, is also working on an IPO in the region, as well as Abu Dhabi-based edtech firm Alef Education, people familiar with the matter have said.

Saadi joined Christian Cabanne, Bank of America’s head of equity capital markets in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, in predicting that more privately-owned companies would seek to go public in the region, after the most recent boom was mostly driven by listings of state assets.

“I can tell you from the discussions we’re having with private families that this is the next wave of IPOs,” Saadi said. “We just need one or two IPOs coming privately in Dubai or Abu Dhabi to open that market and hopefully the rest will follow.”