Talabat says its public float has garnered significant interest from local and international investors. Bloomberg
Talabat says its public float has garnered significant interest from local and international investors. Bloomberg
Talabat says its public float has garnered significant interest from local and international investors. Bloomberg
Talabat says its public float has garnered significant interest from local and international investors. Bloomberg

Talabat raises $2bn from biggest Gulf IPO this year


Fareed Rahman
  • English
  • Arabic

Talabat Holding, the Middle Eastern unit of Germany's food delivery platform Delivery Hero, has raised Dh7.5 billion ($2.04 billion) through its initial public offering, setting the price at the top of the range for the biggest public float in the Gulf this year.

The company closed the books at Dh1.60 per share, which implies a market capitalisation of Dh37.3 billion at the time of its listing, Talabat said on Friday. It said the deal is also "the largest global technology IPO in 2024 to date" which garnered significant investor interest.

Trading is expected to begin on or around December 10 under the ticker symbol “TALABAT” on the Dubai Financial Market.

"Having attracted a double-digit oversubscription level, it is clear that Talabat’s offering presented both international and local investors with a unique opportunity to gain exposure to a technology-driven and dynamic on-demand delivery market," said Tomaso Rodriguez, chief executive.

Talabat, which offers delivery of food, groceries and convenience retail, has operations in the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Oman, Jordan and Iraq. Bloomberg
Talabat, which offers delivery of food, groceries and convenience retail, has operations in the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Oman, Jordan and Iraq. Bloomberg

Frankfurt-listed and Berlin-based Delivery Hero retains a majority interest in Talabat, which post-listing plans to pay a minimum dividend of about $100 million in April next year for the fourth quarter of this year. The company will pay $400 million in two installments in October and April 2026 for the financial results of 2025, the company said in September.

Talabat, which offers delivery of food, groceries and convenience retail, has operations in the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Oman, Jordan and Iraq. In September, its platform had more than six million active customers, more than 65,000 participating restaurants, other groceries and retail vendors. It also had about 119,000 riders.

"As we look ahead, we are confident that our growth strategy focused on enhancing our product offering and increasing our market penetration, investing in our loyalty programmes, scaling our advertising offerings and exploring adjacent categories, will power the next phase of talabat’s success," Mr Rodriguez, said.

Talabat joins a growing list of regional companies that are seeking to raise funds through listings amid continued economic momentum in the region. In just the third quarter of this year, the aggregate value of IPO proceeds rose to $904 million, compared with $523 million from six deal in the three-month period last year, global consultancy PwC said in the Q3 2024 IPO Watch report.

The regional markets bucked the global trend where IPO activity remained muted, with a dip in year-over-year volumes by 14 per cent to 310 IPOs. The total proceeds also declined by 35 per cent to $24.9 billion, modestly outpacing the first two quarters of 2024 in IPO launches, according to an EY report.

In the UAE, the Arab world's second largest economy, listing activity has remained robust since it bounced back strongly from the pandemic-driven slowdown in 2020.

Talabat's IPO – which is just marginally ahead of Oman's OQEP, the exploration and production business of Oman's state oil company's $2 billion float on the local stock exchange – follows Lulu Group’s shares debuted on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange this month, after the company raised Dh6.32 billion from its IPO.

The string of other deals this year in the UAE include ADNH Catering, a unit of Abu Dhabi National Hotels, which raised $235.2 million, NMDC Energy, a unit of Abu Dhabi contractor National Marine Dredging Company, raising $877 million, and Alef Education, which raised $515 million.

Analysts say the pipeline of IPO deals also remains strong amid robust expansion of the non-oil sector in the Emirate's economy. The UAE's governments push to unlock value in state entities and part sell stakes is also supporting deals flow.

The UAE's economy is forecast to grow 4 per cent this year, up from the previous estimate of 3.9 per cent in June, according to the UAE Central Bank.

Earlier this month, the UAE stock markets hit $1 trillion in aggregate market capitalisation, primarily driven by IPO momentum, as well as strong earnings.

The total market capitalisation of the two bourses that make the UAE market rose above Milan or Madrid stock markets, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. While dwarfed by the nearly $3 trillion Saudi Arabian Tadawul stock market, the UAE is larger than most emerging markets, barring a few like India and China, data showed.

There are 100 firms listed on the ADX, while on DFM it is 68, according to data provided by the two bourses last week.

WTL%20SCHEDULE
%3Cp%3EDECEMBER%2019%20(6pm)%0D%3Cbr%3EKites%20v%20Eagles%0D%3Cbr%3EAliassime%20v%20Kyrgios%0D%3Cbr%3ESwiatek%20v%20Garcia%0D%3Cbr%3EEntertainment%3A%20Tiesto%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDECEMBER%2020%20(6pm)%0D%3Cbr%3EFalcons%20v%20Hawks%0D%3Cbr%3EDjokovic%20v%20Zverev%0D%3Cbr%3ESabalenka%20v%20Rybakina%0D%3Cbr%3EEntertainment%3A%20Wizkid%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EDECEMBER%2021%20(6pm)%0D%3Cbr%3EFalcons%20v%20Eagles%0D%3Cbr%3EDjokovic%20v%20Kyrgios%0D%3Cbr%3EBadosa%20v%20Garcia%0D%3Cbr%3EEntertainment%3A%20Ne-Yo%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EDECEMBER%2022%20(6pm)%0D%3Cbr%3EHawks%20v%20Kites%0D%3Cbr%3EThiem%20v%20Aliassime%0D%3Cbr%3EKontaveit%20v%20Swiatek%0D%3Cbr%3EEntertainment%3A%20deadmau5%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EDECEMBER%2023%20(2pm)%0D%3Cbr%3EEagles%20v%20Hawks%0D%3Cbr%3EKyrgios%20v%20Zverev%0D%3Cbr%3EGarcia%20v%20Rybakina%0D%3Cbr%3EEntertainment%3A%20Mohammed%20Ramadan%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EDECEMBER%2023%20(6pm)%0D%3Cbr%3EFalcons%20v%20Kites%0D%3Cbr%3EDjokovic%20v%20Aliassime%0D%3Cbr%3ESabalenka%20v%20Swiatek%0D%3Cbr%3EEntertainment%3A%20Mohammed%20Ramadan%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EDECEMBER%2024%20(6pm)%0D%3Cbr%3EFinals%0D%3Cbr%3EEntertainment%3A%20Armin%20Van%20Buuren%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

Getting there

The flights

Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.

The stay

Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.

Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com

'Brazen'

Director: Monika Mitchell

Starring: Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler

Rating: 3/5

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

MATCH INFO

Day 2 at Mount Maunganui

England 353

Stokes 91, Denly 74, Southee 4-88

New Zealand 144-4

Williamson 51, S Curran 2-28

THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick

Hometown: Cologne, Germany

Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)

Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes

Favourite hobby: Football

Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

AUSTRALIA SQUAD

Tim Paine (captain), Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

PROFILE OF CURE.FIT

Started: July 2016

Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori

Based: Bangalore, India

Sector: Health & wellness

Size: 500 employees

Investment: $250 million

Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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THE CLOWN OF GAZA

Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah 

Starring: Alaa Meqdad

Rating: 4/5

In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile

Tips to stay safe during hot weather
  • Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
  • Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
  • Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
  • Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
  • Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
  • Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
  • Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20SCE%20Studio%20Cambridge%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sony%20Computer%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%2C%20PlayStation%204%20and%205%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.0-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E640hp%20at%206%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E850Nm%20from%202%2C300-4%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E8-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E11.9L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDh749%2C800%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
if you go
Updated: November 29, 2024, 7:44 AM`