Dubai Raises Empower IPO Size by 50% on Strong Demand

(Bloomberg) -- Dubai increased the size of Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corp.’s initial public offering by 50% after drawing strong investor demand, in line with a trend that’s seen the Middle East become a bright spot for listings globally this year.

Shareholders Dubai Electricity & Water Authority and Emirates Power Investment will now sell 1.5 billion shares -- a 15% stake -- in the IPO, Empower said in a statement on Tuesday. The listing will now raise as much as 2 billion dirhams ($543 million).

The selling shareholders could still decide to amend the size of the offering before the end of the subscription period, Empower said.

The initial plan to sell 10% of the company would have made the deal one of the smallest offerings in Dubai this year. Demand for the IPO had exceeded the deal size hours after books opened on Monday. 

The deal is part of Dubai’s privatization drive to increase liquidity and catch up with a flurry of share sales in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia. The city’s three IPOs this year have raised about $7.6 billion combined and the government increased the size of two of these listings -- DEWA and Salik -- after drawing significant demand. 

Empower will announce final pricing on Nov. 9 and make its trading debut on Nov. 15. The UAE Strategic Investment Fund, Shamal Holding and Abu Dhabi Pension Fund are cornerstone investors with a total commitment of up to 335 million dirhams.

Citigroup Inc., Emirates NBD Capital, Merrill Lynch International and EFG-Hermes are managing the IPO. Moelis & Co. is the independent financial adviser to Empower.

(Updates with official announcement)

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