Arab News, Thu, Sep 12, 2024 | Rabi al-Awwal 9, 1446
Arabian Mills set final IPO price at $17.59 per share as CEO details growth vision
Saudi Arabia:
Saudi wheat flour producer Arabian Mills for Food
Products Co. has set its final initial public offering price at SR66 ($17.59)
per share on the Tadawul main market.
During the book-building process, the company
received orders worth SR134.1 billion from local and international investment
institutions for its IPO of approximately 30 percent of its shares on the Saudi
Stock Exchange.
The offering comprises 15,394,502 offer shares.
The firm announced that the institutional offering
was oversubscribed by about 132 times, leading to the offer price being set at
the maximum of the range.
This indicates the company’s market capitalization
upon listing would be SR3.387 billion.
As a result, the current stockholders will receive
the net proceeds of the amount raised through the IPO, which is SR1.02 billion.
From this public offering, the shareholders
selling their shares, including Abdulaziz Alajlan Sons for Commercial and Real
Estate Investments, Sulaiman Abdulaziz Al-Rajhi International Co., and the
National Agricultural Development Co., will collectively receive SR1.02 million.
Arabian Mills announced on Sept. 1 that the price
range for the offering was set between SR62 and SR66 and appointed HSBC Saudi
Arabia as the financial adviser, bookrunner, and lead manager for the
institutional subscription, as well as the underwriter for the public offering.
“We feel that the demand, for the investors, this
is the right time for any kind of an IPO. The macro-environment has been very
favorable in general,” Rohit Chugh, CEO of Arabian Mills, told Arab News.
He added: “Secondly, as a company, we have seen
about close to three years of privatization, which has given us an adequate
amount of time to sort of reflect on our performance, which has been fantastic.”
This period has also allowed potential investors
to review the company’s financial performance over the last two and a half
years, giving them a complete view and boosting their confidence in the firm’s
stability and prospects.
“Also, we have very good, strategic plans in place
as far as future plans go, and now that we are very clear in terms of our
vision, so if you take the past and the future, then it’s a very exciting time
as far as we are concerned,” Chugh said.
He added: “In reality, the shareholders continue
to remain invested. They’re very positive about the company, and that’s why they
are just selling 30 percent of their shareholding to the new investors.”
Specifically, Alajlan Brothers will retain 35
percent, AlRajhi will keep about 25 percent, and NADEC will hold 10 percent,
making up the 70 percent of shares that will remain with the existing investors.
“The 30 percent of the shareholding is what they
have offered at a lucrative IPO price to the new investors because they feel
that, with the growth plans, which we have in place for the future, they would
like to invite new investors, to come and pitch in and be a part of this whole
success story as we move,” the CEO said in the interview.
Expansion plans
Chugh stated that the company is currently focused
on expanding its presence in new regions within Saudi Arabia.
Although they are already well-established in the
Kingdom’s central, northern, and southern parts, they recognize significant
opportunities in other areas they haven’t yet explored.
“Therefore, we are planning to tap those growth
opportunities in the western, eastern and the northern parts of the country by
opening up distribution centers. West, for example, is where Makkah, Madinah
is,” he said.
Chugh continued: “If you talk about the east, a
lot of action is happening there as well. The Tabuk north side is where the NEOM
projects will be coming up in the future, so we want to be a part of the growth
journey, tapping all the right corners in Saudi Arabia.”
Currently, the company is not planning to expand
into international markets because it is focused on selling wheat flour at
subsidized prices through its arrangement with the General Food Security
Authority. However, they are open to exploring export opportunities in the
future.
Given their significant milling capacity and
robust infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council, they are
well-positioned to handle such opportunities if they arise.
For now, their focus remains on their existing
operations, and any decision to expand internationally would depend on the
conditions at that time.
IPO trajectory
The company’s CEO underlined that when setting the
IPO price, the management aimed to ensure that investors would have the
opportunity to make a profit.
When asked about his forecast or trajectory stock,
Chugh said they could have set a higher price, but they chose a lower cost to
attract new investors who would join them in the company’s growth journey.
The intention was to leave some potential for
capital appreciation, as the management believes the firm’s true value is higher
than the IPO price.
“That’s where we see that there should be a
positive trajectory in the coming time. Obviously, this is subject to market
conditions and global conditions,” he said.
Chugh added: “Nobody can predict that. But yes, we
are optimistic as a company that we have priced it at the right pricing, like we
got at SR66.”
He believes there are strong growth prospects in
Saudi Arabia, driven by the country’s Vision 2030, which is set to have an
impact well beyond its target year.
“Obviously, the next four, five years are critical
for us, but we are even looking beyond that to the next 15, 20 years and seeing
how we can take this organization to fulfill its maximum potential as part of
the Vision 2030 and beyond,” Chugh said.