Finance Lulu Group said to raise $2.7bn before potential IPO By Pramod Kumar August 13, 2023, 6:05 AM Shutterstock/Wiropidah Dahlan Lulu is opening two large shopping malls in Ahmedabad and Chennai in India Lulu Group International, the largest hypermarket chain operator in the Middle East, will raise AED10 billion ($2.72 billion) to refinance debt ahead of a potential initial public offering (IPO), Bloomberg reported, citing informed sources. The funding will be provided by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Bank and Mashreq Bank, with loans having an average maturity of 10 years. Abu Dhabi-headquartered Lulu is working on its capital structure with Moelis & Co. before a possible listing, the sources said. “This injection of funds will empower us to pay off existing debts, further extend our footprint with 80 new hypermarkets across the GCC, Egypt and beyond, enhance supply chain networks and e-commerce capabilities which will contribute positively to the economies in which we operate,” the news agency reported, citing a Lulu Group spokesperson. Founded by Indian billionaire Yusuff Ali in the early 1990s, the company has an annual revenue of about $8 billion and employs more than 65,000 people in 23 countries across the Middle East, Asia, the US, and Europe.
Real Estate ‘Safe’ Sharjah attracts Kuwaiti investors to $950m project The emirate of Sharjah has been praised as “safe and business-friendly” by a Kuwaiti developer who has formed a partnership to develop a AED3.5 billion ($950 million) housing project in its burgeoning local property market. Talal Al-Bahar, vice-chairman and CEO of Kuwait Real Estate Company (Aqarat), said that investors were attracted to Sharjah because of […] 13 hours ago
Aviation Riyadh Air delays launch after Boeing setbacks Riyadh Air has been forced to push back its launch date to the third quarter of 2025 after delays to deliveries from Boeing. The new Saudi airline had been scheduled to begin flying early this year. It is a blow to Saudi Arabia’s tourism ambitions to attract 150 million visits a year. Riyadh Air was founded […] 14 hours ago
Tech KKR signs a $5bn Gulf data centre deal in Dubai KKR, the American investment giant, and the data centre platform Gulf Data Hub (GDH), based in Dubai, have signed a strategic partnership to invest $5 billion in data centres serving the Gulf. A joint press release on Friday said that funds “affiliated with KKR” will also acquire a stake in GDH, although it did not […] 15 hours ago
Real Estate Eagle Hills plans Trump hotel project with Kushner The Abu Dhabi-based developer Eagle Hills and Affinity Partners, an investment firm founded by Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have agreed to build a luxury hotel and apartment complex in Serbia’s capital, Belgrade. The project, on the site of the former Yugoslav defence ministry, will feature a 175-room Trump hotel as its centrepiece, and 1,500 […] 15 hours ago
