Alpha Data, an Abu Dhabi-based digital transformation services provider, plans to list 40 per cent of its issued share capital on the capital's bourse, amid economic momentum and a listing boom in the UAE.
Bin Hamoodah Company and Ibbini Investment, the selling shareholders, aim to offer 400 million shares, with a nominal value of Dh0.03 ($0.008) per share, through an initial public offering on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the companies said on Thursday.
Alpha Data, which was established in 1981, has a total issued share capital of Dh30 million.
The subscription period will run from February 20 to 25, and the final offer price on the deal will be determined through book-building. The selling shareholders have reserved the right to amend the size of the offering and expect Alpha Data to begin trading on the ADX in March.
Retail and other UAE investors will be able to subscribe to the shares on offer in the first tranche, while the second tranche is reserved for professional investors, Alpha Data said without giving the percentages of shares reserved for each tranche. The Emirates Investment Authority will be able to subscribe to up to 5 per cent of the offering, it added.
Alpha Data employs more than 1,500 staff, providing ICT solutions for thousands of organisations, according to its website. Its portfolio includes services for artificial intelligence, mobility, security, the Internet of Things, big data and the cloud.
Its public float aims to support digital strategies in the countries it operates and boost the contribution of technology to national economies, Mohamed Al Shamsi, Alpha Data's prospective chairman, said.
The IPO enables the company to "build on our success as a leading digital transformation provider", he said "As a business, we will continue to enhance and expand our offering."
Alpha Data is the latest company seeking to sell shares to the public amid a listing boom driven by robust investor demand for new issues.
The continued economic momentum in the UAE, the Arab world's second-largest economy, has also boosted listings across sectors on both Abu Dhabi bourse and the Dubai Financial Market.
Alpha Data's planned listing follows a string of IPOs over the past year. Talabat Holding, the Middle Eastern unit of Germany's food delivery platform Delivery Hero, raised Dh7.5 billion in November, in what was the GCC's biggest IPO in 2024. Also that month, UAE retail major Lulu Group raised Dh6.32 billion.
Other UAE IPOs in 2024 included 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 in the UAE remains strong amid robust expansion of the non-oil sector in the Emirate's economy. The UAE's government's push to unlock value in state entities and part-sell stakes is also supporting deal flows.
Dubai Investments, a diversified company in which the sovereign wealth fund Investment Corporation of Dubai holds a stake, last month said it plans to take four of its subsidiaries public.
Alpha Data is seeking to tap into the technology boom in the UAE, where the government has continued to champion digital transformation and the adoption of emerging innovations as it transitions to the economy of the future.
"Given the increasing importance of technology in every day life, not just in the UAE but globally, Alpha Data is in a strong position to leverage its experience to take further market share," said Fayez Ibbini, founder and chief executive of Alpha Data.
The listing will be an opportunity to provide investors "the chance to invest in one of the few businesses in the UAE that is fully integrated into the digital economy", he added.
EFG-Hermes and Emirates NBD Capital are joint global co-ordinators and joint bookrunners for the IPO, while Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank is a joint bookrunner. Emirates NBD is the lead receiving bank, while ADCB, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Emirates Islamic Bank and Wio Bank are the receiving banks.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Points classification after Stage 4
1. Arnaud Demare (France / FDJ) 124
2. Marcel Kittel (Germany / Quick-Step) 81
3. Michael Matthews (Australia / Sunweb) 66
4. Andre Greipel (Germany / Lotto) 63
5. Alexander Kristoff (Norway / Katusha) 43
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
India Test squad
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Vijay, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
