Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

UAE mall operator Lulu plans a Gulf listing in 2024

By Pramod Kumar
Lulu is opening two large shopping malls in Ahmedabad and Chennai in India Shutterstock/Wiropidah Dahlan
Lulu is opening two large shopping malls in Ahmedabad and Chennai in India

Retail conglomerate Lulu Group International expects to launch its initial public offering (IPO) in the first half of 2024, said chairman and managing director Yusuff Ali.

The IPO will be launched in the Gulf, but no specific stock exchange has been decided, Ali said on the sidelines at an event in New Delhi.

The hypermarket chain and mall operator, which is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, has appointed Moelis and Co. as advisor for the IPO, Ali added.

Bloomberg reported last month that Lulu Group plans to raise AED10 billion ($2.72 billion) to refinance debt before a potential IPO.

Lulu has invested INR200 billion ($2.41 billion) so far in India, with plans to increase investment to INR500 billion by 2025, the chairman said.

The company will set up two large shopping malls in Ahmedabad and Chennai, the Asian News International news agency reported.

“We are going to construct one of the largest shopping malls in Ahmedabad and Chennai and we are opening our shopping mall in Hyderabad by the end of this month,” he said, adding the company plans to open more shopping malls and food processing units in different Indian states.

Founded by Indian billionaire Ali in the early 1990s, Lulu 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.

According to the EY IPO Eye Q2 2023 report, activity in the Middle East and North Africa raised a total of $1.8 billion in proceeds from 13 IPOs.

Although this dropped by 80 percent year on year, the growth in the number of listings was driven predominately by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. 

Latest articles

STC wants to consolidate the mobile tower market

STC approves PIF purchase of telecom company

Shareholders of Saudi telecom giant STC have approved plans to create a new telecommunications infrastructure company in which the Public Investment Fund will have a 51 percent stake valued at SAR8.7 billion ($2.3 billion).  Under the deal, the STC-owned Telecommunication Towers Co. Limited (Tawal) will become a PIF subsidiary through a merger with Golden Lattice […]

Flavio Cattaneo of Enel, of which Endesa is a subsidiary, and Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi at the signing of the deal

Masdar buys stake in Spanish utilities company Endesa

The UAE’s state-owned clean energy company Masdar has agreed to acquire a minority stake in Spanish electric utility business Endesa to partner for 2.5 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy assets in Spain. Under the agreement, subject to regulatory approval, Masdar will invest nearly $890 million to acquire a 49.99 percent stake in Endesa, with an […]

Person, Worker, Adult

Aramco and PIF invest in Saudi-Chinese steel venture

Saudi Aramco and the Public Investment Fund have doubled their investment in a steel plate joint venture with a Chinese company to $500 million. The two Saudi companies each own 25 percent shares in the new venture in Ras Al Khair industrial city, Bloomberg reported, quoting a statement published on the Chinese stock exchange. Chinese […]

Car, Transportation, Vehicle

Dubai Taxi to pay $43m dividend despite profit drop

Dubai Taxi Company, a subsidiary of the emirate’s transport regulator, has approved a dividend payout of AED159 million ($43 million) for the first half of 2024 despite a marginal 1 percent increase in net profit. Net earnings reached AED187.4 million in the first six months of the year, compared to AED186.3 million at the same […]