Tech IT firm Meeza to be Qatar’s first to use book building for IPO By Reuters January 9, 2023 REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon The IPO process, which begins this month, will allow Meeza to offer a price range to test investors’ appetite IT services firm Meeza is set to become the first Qatari company to use book building to carry out an initial public offering, it said in a statement, as the country aligns itself with international practices. The company, part-owned by telecoms operator Ooredoo, said it would be selling 50 percent of its share capital in a public-share sale with a planned listing on the Qatar Stock Exchange. The process, which begins this month, will allow the company to offer a price range to test investors’ appetite and determine the IPO price. The offering’s price range is between QR2.61 ($0.7135) to QR2.81 per share, which could raise between QR846 million and QR 911 million. Qatar introduced the regulations for book building in February 2021 to help entice foreign investors and elevate its status towards a developed market. Until now, the standard practice in Qatar has been for a company to set a price based on feedback from two independent valuation reports. In its statement, Meeza said the book building would follow the Qatar Financial Markets Authority’s offering and listing regulations, including “a set of new procedures that would provide additional options for companies wishing to offer and list in the financial market”.
