UAE technology company Alpha Data aims to raise up to Dh600 million ($163.4 million) through its initial public offering on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, in a sign of strong demand for listings.
The digital transformation services provider has set a price range of between Dh1.45 and Dh1.50 per share, it said on Thursday.
Bin Hamoodah Company and Ibbini Investment, the selling shareholders, aim to float 400 million shares, comprising 40 per cent of Alpha Data's total issued share capital, on the ADX's main bourse.
Based on its offer price, the company will have a market valuation of up to Dh1.5 billion at the time of listing, it said.
Retail and other UAE investors will be able to subscribe to the shares on offer in the first tranche, which will make up 5 per cent of the IPO, while the remaining 95 per cent is reserved for professional investors in the second tranche, the company said.
Alpha Dhabi expects to distribute a dividend of Dh130 million in 2025.
The subscription period began on Thursday, February 20, and will close on February 25. The final offer price is slated to be announced on February 26 after a book-building process.
Alpha Data has been “encouraged by the strong interest” in its IPO, which reflects the strength of the technology sector in the UAE, founder and chief executive Fayez Ibbini said.
“Our IPO marks … an opportunity to invest in a home-grown UAE family business with strong fundamentals underpinned by macro-trends in the information and communications technology sector, including the rapid growth of agentic artificial intelligence,” he said.
Agentic AI are systems that can autonomously make decisions and act on it with limited supervision.
“With our recently established presence in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Alpha Data is well-positioned to drive further growth across key business verticals, supported by our main operations in the UAE,” Mr Ibbini added.
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 company 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.
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 Gulf's biggest IPO last year. 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 economy. The government's push to unlock value in state entities, and to 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.
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
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Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.
"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
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Label: Warner Records
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Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
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Uefa Champions League Group H
Juventus v Valencia, Tuesday, midnight (UAE)
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Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
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THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
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Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
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