Mubadala seeks over $20bn value for EGA in IPO

Mubadala Investment is seeking a value of more than $20bn including debt for Emirates Global Aluminium as it inches closer to listing the business, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund has asked banks to start pitching for roles on an initial public offering of EGA, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.

EGA’s chairman Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak said in April that the company was very close to going public, having seen a previous plan to do so shelved in 2018 after then-US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on aluminum imports from the United Arab Emirates.

Bank of America, Goldman Sachs Group and JPMorgan Chase worked on the plans for the earlier share sale. It is unclear whether they’ll be picked again as Mubadala has reached out to several banks to ask for pitches, one of the people said.

EGA is the Middle East’s biggest aluminium producer and is equally owned by Mubadala and Investment Corporation of Dubai. It has smelters in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and a bauxite mine in Guinea. The company generated revenue of $5.1bn in 2020 and made earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $1.1bn.

Deliberations are ongoing, and any final decisions on the size and timing of EGA’s IPO will depend on investor demand and market conditions, according to the people. A representative for Mubadala declined to comment, while a spokesperson for ICD didn’t immediately respond to request for comment.

A listing of EGA could rank among the largest-ever share sales in the UAE and come at a time when state-owned entities are seeking to monetize their core assets. Mubadala raised $731m in an IPO of satellite operator Yahsat this month, in what was Abu Dhabi’s second-largest listing.