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The first special purpose acquisition company to list in the Middle East closed higher on Friday on its first day of trading in Abu Dhabi.
ADC Acquisition Corporation, backed by the government of the oil-rich emirate, is the latest in a string of blank-check companies in the region, with domestic capital markets busy with initial public offerings in government-linked companies amid a surge in liquidity due to high oil prices.
A flood of IPOs is attracting funds from outside the region, with global managers looking to capitalize on the high-growth environment and capitalize on the region’s sovereign wealth funds.
Mohamed Alsuwaidi, Chairman of ADC and CEO of ADQ Abu Dhabi, said: “Ultimately, our aim is to improve the business environment in Abu Dhabi and contribute to making the UAE capital a leading hub for private companies seeking to go public.” The holding company is a co-sponsor of Spac.
ADC, which raised about $100 million in the listing, said it would be looking for a target company with “primary operations in the UAE and the MENA region.”
ADC was established by ADQ and Chimera Investment, a division of the private Royal Group, owned by Sheikh Tanon The UAE’s powerful national security adviser bin Zayed al-Nahyan. Sheikh Tahnoon also serves as ADQ Chair.
Although Spas have been working hard to deliver on their promises And out of fashion in other markets, some businesses in the Middle East are considering this option.
Bahrain-based Investcorp is working on a plan to raise up to $250 million for a regional Spac in the UAE, people familiar with the matter said. The possible listing in Dubai would be the global asset manager’s third Spac listing in a year, after two listings in the U.S. looking for targets in Europe and India.
UAE-based private equity firm Gulf Capital is also considering a listing of Spac in Abu Dhabi for about $150 million, a person familiar with the details said.
Dubai-listed investment bank Shuaa Capital listed Spac, valued at $100 million, on Nasdaq in March, seeking to merge with a technology or fintech company in the Middle East. Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala raised $200 million in Spac last year.
The pace of initial public offerings has picked up as oil prices soared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, most recently the listing of shares in Borouge, a plastics maker owned by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Austria’s Borealis.
“Our pipeline of new listings and IPOs remains strong,” said Saeed Al Dhaheri, chief executive of the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange.
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