Adnoc Distribution to expand to Dubai and Saudi Arabia

14 December 2017
Share price of Adnoc’s retail arm rose as high as 16 per cent on first day of trading

Adnoc Distribution, the retail arm of UAE oil giant Adnoc, which made an impressive debut stock listing on 13 December on the Abu Dhabi bourse, has plans to expand its business in Dubai and Saudi Arabia, a media report has quoted a senior company executive as saying.

The company, which raised $851m through an initial public offering (IPO) in early December, will open at least two new facilities in Dubai next year. It also plans to enter the Saudi market by opening fuel stations and convenience stores.

Adnoc Distribution, which operates fuel stations and convenience shops across the UAE except Dubai, is mulling entering the emirate next year, deputy CEO John Carey has told Dubai-based English language daily Gulf News. Carey has also revealed Adnoc Distribution is likely to adopt a franchise model and work with partners in Saudi Arabia.

The move is an apparent reaction to the encouraging response the UAE national oil company has received throughout the period spanning its announcement to float shares in July till yesterday when it finally listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX).

Shares of Adnoc Distribution, trading as per the ticker name of ‘AdnocDist’ rose as high as AED 2.90 per share on the morning of the first day at the ADX, 16 per cent higher than the initial share price of AED2.50. About 45 minutes after the market opened, shares were priced at AED2.75, with trading for the day ending at AED2.65.

Adnoc Distribution was oversubscribed multiple times on the qualified investor tranche, and the retail tranche was oversubscribed 22 times on the original retail tranche size. To accommodate for the level of retail investor demand, the retail tranche was doubled in size.

According to ADX CEO Rashed al-Baloushi, a total of 12,000 investors from 73 countries participated in the initial public offering's (IPO’s) subscription, with final allocations hitting approximately 90 per cent for qualified investors and 10 per cent for individual and other investors.

The IPO represents the first international offering on the ADX and was the first since 2011. It is also the largest IPO on Abu Dhabi stock market in the last decade. Based on its market capitalisation at listing, Adnoc Distribution is expected to be the fourth largest company listed on the ADX and the only large, retail sector stock, helping to further diversify the exchange and increasing investor choice.

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