The Abu Dhabi-based property investor Tasweek expects to launch an initial public offering of its shares by December.
The Dh1 billion private company founded by the former Emaar and Sorouh executive, Masood Al Awar, confirmed yesterday that it was looking at listing 55 per cent of its shares on either the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange or the Dubai Financial Market by the end of the year.
Tasweek, which is owned by 53 Emiratis and operates a US$250 million property portfolio spread across the UAE, Malaysia and Morocco, said it was talking to the law firms Tamini and Simmons & Simmons and brokers from National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Shuaa Capital, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and The National Investor regarding the offering.
The company added that it expected to appoint a financial adviser for the float at the end of this month.
“We are an Abu Dhabi company, so the probability is higher that we will list in Abu Dhabi, but we don’t want to make that commitment right now,” Mr Al Awar said.
Speaking at an event to promote the company’s Smart City Living conference in Dubai, Mr Al Awar added that the company was also talking to the consultants Deloitte and PwC regarding the float.
Tasweek, which was set up in 2009 to invest in distressed property in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, said that it was evaluating which parcels of land it owned would be included in the listing.
Tasweek's decision to list comes on the back of a spate of recent IPOs from UAE companies, including the Dubai developer Damac, which listed its shares in London in December, and Emaar Properties, which announced in May it had received approval from the Securities & Commodities Authority to float 25 per cent of its malls division on the DFM.
“As UAE markets have rallied, so valuations are becoming very attractive to companies looking at IPOs,” said Sebastien Henin, the head of asset management at The National Investor. “Demand for real estate is also back in the UAE, so from a business point of view real estate developers are looking for ways to finance new projects. So it is not surprising that we are seeing more real estate companies looking at IPOs.”
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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