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Supermarket major Lulu officially announces IPO

A man shops in a Lulu supermarket in Muscat, Oman. The company has an annual revenue of $8 billion Alamy via Reuters
A man shops in a Lulu supermarket in Muscat, Oman. The company has an annual revenue of $8 billion
  • Listing in Abu Dhabi next month
  • 25% stake of over 2.5bn shares
  • 240 stores across GCC

UAE supermarket major Lulu is to list a 25 percent stake on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX).

Over 2.5 billion shares of Lulu Retail Holdings, which is among the largest hypermarket chain operators in the Middle East, will be made available with a nominal value of $0.014. 

“With GCC retail presenting a $100 billion market opportunity over the next five years and our business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia primed for further growth, we are confident that Lulu will continue to be where the world comes to shop,” said Saifee Rupawala, CEO of Lulu Retail.

Founded in 1974 by Indian businessman Yusuff Ali, Lulu has an annual revenue of about $8 billion and employs more than 65,000 people. 

The company operates 240 stores, made up of 116 hypermarkets, 102 express stores and 22 mini markets, across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Lulu enjoyed a 13.5 percent share of the GCC modern offline grocery market in 2023.

The offering will be made available to UAE retail investors, including eligible employees of the group, as part of the UAE retail offering; to professional investors through the qualified investor offering; and to eligible senior executives of the group.

The news follows the listing of UAE-based grocery retailer Spinneys in May on the Dubai Financial Market. The company received more than $19 billion in orders for its $375 million IPO, which was 64 times oversubscribed. 

Spinney’s share price has since dropped nearly 12 percent to AED1.50.

Savola Group, from Saudi Arabia, announced in February plans to list its grocery subsidiary Panda Retail.

Lulu is expected to officially list on the ADX on November 14.

According to a statement on Monday, the company said it wants to maintain a total dividend payout ratio of 75 percent of annual distributable profits after tax, and to make the payout twice a year, subject to relevant parameters.

The Lulu listing comes after a series of high-profile offerings on the ADX which have combined to add more than AED21 billion in value to the UAE’s stock market capitalisation in 2024.