Air Arabia’s AED2.5 billion initial public offering (IPO) closes on Tuesday, March 27, 2007.
The IPO, which opened on March 18, 2007, is the largest offering in UAE history to date and is open to both UAE and non-UAE nationals, including individual and institutional investors.
The total size of the offering is AED2,566,700,000 consisting of 2,566,700,000 shares, representing 55 per cent of the company’s share capital, at an offer price of AED 1 per share, in addition to AED 0.02 in offering costs.
SHUAA Capital is the Lead Manager, Financial Advisor and Bookrunner for the IPO. The National Bank of Abu Dhabi is the Lead Receiving Bank. In addition, investors are able to subscribe at receiving banks both in the UAE and the GCC.
Receiving banks in the UAE are: National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), Mashreqbank, Dubai Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates Bank, First Gulf Bank, InvestBank, National Bank of Fujairah, National Bank of Umm Al Quwain, Sharjah Islamic Bank and Union National Bank.
Receiving banks across the GCC are: Ahli United Bank, Bahrain; Ahli Bank, Qatar; and National Bank of Oman, Oman.
Air Arabia plans to list its shares on the Dubai Financial Market.
The company intends to use the proceeds from the offering, in addition to bank financing, to expand the size of its existing fleet from nine to at least 34 aircraft by 2016. In addition, Air Arabia aims to expand its scope of operations and invest in the infrastructure associated with the fleet expansion.
Allocation of shares among subscribers will take place on April 8, 2007, with refunds for subscribers in the UAE on April 11, 2007, and for those in the GCC on April 14, 2007.
About Air Arabia: Air Arabia was established in February 2003 by an Amiri decree issued by His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohamed Al Qassimi, Ruler of Sharjah and Member of the Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates. The company began operations in October of the same year.
Based in Sharjah and with a fleet of nine Airbus A320 aircraft, Air Arabia serves over 33 destinations across the Middle East, North Africa, Indian Subcontinent and Central Asia, including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt, India, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Sudan, Turkey and Yemen.
Air Arabia is modeled after leading American and European low-cost airlines and is customised to local preferences. Its main focus is to make air travel more convenient through Internet booking and offering the lowest fares in the market without sacrificing on service or safety standards.
