SAUDI Arabia-based perfume maker Al Majed for Oud received more orders for its initial public offering than shares available in just a few hours after books opened on the deal on Sunday (Aug 25).
The company is selling a 30 per cent stake – 7.5 million shares – and seeks to raise as much as US$188 million. Institutional investors fully covered the order book throughout the 90 riyals (S$31.3) to 94 riyals price range, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.
The offer period and bookbuilding for institutional investors will run until Aug 29, while retail investors will be able to submit offers on Sep 15. Al Majed for Oud hired BSF Capital, the investment banking arm of Banque Saudi Fransi, for the offering.
Saudi Arabia’s equity capital markets have been busy this year, with a number of IPOs and oil giant Saudi Aramco’s US$12 billion secondary offering – the biggest share sale of the year globally.
Oud perfume is a traditional Middle Eastern fragrance derived from the resin of the aquilaria tree native to South-east Asia. Given only a small percentage of the trees produce the resin, it’s one of the rarest natural resources in the world.
Arabian Oud, another Saudi maker of the perfume, may also eventually come to the Riyadh bourse. The company hired Emirates NBD Capital and SNB Capital earlier this year for a potential share sale, Bloomberg has reported.
Meanwhile, Saudi flour milling company Arabian Mills for Food Products last week said it plans to offer more than 15 million shares on the local stock exchange. It has not yet provided a price range. BLOOMBERG
