NESR considers dual listing after Nasdaq return

Ted Hsu/Alamy via Reuters Connect

• National Energy Services relisted
• Auditing issue resolved
• Gulf listing on horizon

National Energy Services Reunited (NESR) is considering a dual listing as it prepares to ring the Nasdaq bell for the second time in its relatively short history.

NESR was created in the UAE in 2017 through a special purpose acquisition company to raise money from New York and become the first publicly listed energy company from the Middle East on the Nasdaq exchange.

The company, formed through the merger of Gulf Energy and National Petroleum Services, provides services to the oil and gas sector across the Middle East and North Africa and has a presence in 15 countries.

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Last year it was delisted from the New York exchange after failing to meet a filing deadline caused by an auditing issue.

CEO Sherif Foda said it was a “mistake”, which was subsequently proven by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the US government oversight agency responsible for regulating the securities markets and protecting investors.

“We spent almost $40 million between legal and auditors during the restatement process to ensure what happened never happens again,” he told AGBI at the Adipec energy conference in Abu Dhabi.

Investors in NESR include Fidelity, Encompass, Boston Partners and Olayan, one of the largest family offices in the Middle East.

Foda will be back at Nasdaq headquarters in New York’s Times Square on November 20 to signal the return of NESR.

And he has not ruled out a future secondary listing closer to home with a particular focus on Saudi Arabia or Abu Dhabi.

“We’re going to wait six or seven months and then we will monitor how we are trading. And if there is a way or a vehicle to do another listing then we will,” he said.

In its most recent financial results, NESR reported revenues of $1.1 billion for 2023, up 26 percent year on year, with net income of $12.6 million.

Last month, NESR acquired a minority percent stake in Dutch desalination technology company Salttech.