UAE exchange house Al Ansari seeks to raise over $210m in IPO

Al Ansari

UAE-based remittance and foreign exchange house Al Ansari Financial Services is seeking to raise up to AED772.5 million ($210.4 million) by listing on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM). 

Al Ansari, which announced an intention to float 10 percent of the company last week, will price its shares between AED1 and AED1.03, implying a valuation of AED7.5 billion to AED7.73 billion, the company said in a statement.

Books were covered shortly after opening, Reuters reported, citing a note to investors.

The exchange house is offering 750 million shares through an initial public offering (IPO). Subscription began on Thursday (March 16) and will run until March 24.

The final price of the shares will be set on March 27 through a book-building process.  The listing is expected on April 6.

The company aims to pay a minimum dividend of AED600 million for 2023, to be paid out in October 2023 and April next year. The offer price range indicates a minimum dividend yield of about 7.77-8.00 percent in 2023, the statement added.

Dubai-based Shariah-compliant savings scheme provider National Bonds Corporation has committed to a cornerstone investment of AED200 million.

Al Ansari chairman Mohammad Ali Al Ansari said earlier that the listing will “offer investors a unique investment opportunity with significant exposure to a region that is expected to witness robust growth in the mid-term”.

The company posted a net profit of AED595 million for 2022, up 21 percent on the previous year.

The company’s foreign exchange operations started as an offshoot of a trading business of the Al Ansari family almost 60 years ago, opening its first branch in Abu Dhabi in 1966. It has since grown to a network of 231 branches, employing more than 3,500 people and catering to over three million customers.