UAE supermarket chain Lulu hires Moelis for IPO – sources

DUBAI, Oct 13 (Reuters) – Abu Dhabi-based supermarket chain Lulu Group International is planning an initial public offering and has hired investment bank Moelis & Co to advise it, two people familiar with the matter said.

Lulu, one of the largest supermarket chains in the Gulf, was founded by Indian-born businessman Yusuff Ali and, according to its website, operates 239 stores in 23 countries and employs more than 60,000 people.

The listing spree in Gulf stock markets has bucked the trend as the region benefits from high oil prices and investor inflows.

The supermarket chain plans to go public next year after the grocery business was not affected by the pandemic, the sources said.

Lulu did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment, and Moelis declined to comment.

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ said two years ago it was investing as much as $1 billion in Lulu to help it expand in Egypt, and sources later said it had bought a 20 percent stake, meaning the company’s The overall valuation is $5 billion.

ADQ CEO Mohamed Hassan al-Suwaidi said at the time that the deal reflected the fund’s broader commitment to investing in Egypt. ADQ established a $20 billion joint investment platform with Egypt’s sovereign fund in late 2019 and has made significant investments in the most populous Arab country.

Before the ADQ deal was announced, Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, was in early discussions to buy a stake in Lulu. The deal never materialized.

It is unclear how many shares Lulu plans to issue.

Edited by Kirsten Donovan

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