Abu Dhabi National Oil Company for Distribution (Adnoc Distribution) is planning an initial public offering (IPO) of at least 10 per cent of its shares on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange during December.

The operator of retail fuel stations in the UAE announced on 13 November that the IPO would include a public offering to retail investors in the UAE and an offering to qualified investors in several countries including the UAE. Five per cent of the offering will be reserved for the Emirates Investment Authority.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) currently owns 100 per cent of shares in the retailer.

Adnoc Distribution is in the process of finalising the required approvals to proceed with the IPO.

Adnoc Distribution says it has a 67 per cent market share of the retail fuel market in the UAE by number of service stations and also the largest market share in the wholesale fuel segment. The firm reported a gross profit of AED4.2bn ($1.2bn) in 2016.

Citigroup, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC Middle East and Merrill Lynch International are acting as the joint global coordinators for the IPO.

EFG Hermes UAE, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are acting as the joint bookrunners. Rothschild is the sole financial adviser to Adnoc and Adnoc Distribution on the preparations for and execution of the IPO.

The share sale forms part of the transformation programme announced by Adnoc earlier this year.

Moelis is adviser to Adnoc on its overall transformation programme.