The highly anticipated BD 30 million Nass Corporation B.S.C. Initial Public Offering (IPO) has been tickling the interest of investors around the GCC for the past eight days, and with only two weeks to go, the demand is still strong, say officials.
“Due to the high level of demand, we have decided to open an evening shift at the Manama Main Branch of HSBC. The Branch will now be accepting Subscription Application Forms from 8pm until 11pm Saturday through Thursday until Subscription End date which is October 30, 2005,” said Hisham Al-Saie, Head of Corporate Finance and Securities & Investment Company BSC (c) (“SICO”).
The main attraction for investors is a rare combination of firsts for a Bahrain-based IPO; It’s the first family owned construction sector conglomerate in Bahrain to go public; at 50 million shares, it’s the largest IPO in Bahrain for eight years and it’s the first open to investors of all nationalities, thanks to Bahrain’s forward looking regulations.
With the current boom in the construction sector looking set to stay, this IPO represents a solid addition to the portfolios of those who subscribe.
Nass Corporation B.S.C. is allocating 25% of its shares, a total of 50 million ordinary shares, through the IPO process, which closes on October 30. The Nass founding shareholders will retain a majority stake in the corporation, which already completed a private placement of 24% of shares with a group of 15 GCC strategic investors in June this year.
SICO is the lead manager and co-financial advisor on the transaction. KPMG Corporate Finance is also co-financial advisor on the transaction. Trowers & Hamlins is the legal advisors and Baker Wilkins & Smith, the technical evaluator.
The subscription period closes at 12pm on October 30, 2005. Details of allocations will be published in Bahraini newspapers within 2 weeks of the subscription closing, at which time trading is scheduled to begin.
Applications are invited from investors of all nationalities, who can collect a copy of the IPO prospectus and subscription forms in Bahrain from the Manama, Adliya and Muharraq branches of HSBC and the office of the Registrar, KPMG-Shares Registrar Department, Al-Hedaya Building, Government Avenue. The same can be obtained from selected branches of Emirates Financial Services (EFS) in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
