Saudi Arabia’s PIF-backed Elm set to raise $820m through Tadawul IPO

The company is selling 30% of its share capital and has set its final offer price at $34.13 per share

The number of listings on Saudi Arabia’s bourse rose sharply last year amid economic recovery. Reuters

Information security company Elm is set to raise 3.07 billion Saudi riyals ($820 million) in an initial public offering after it priced its shares on Sunday.

The Saudi company, owned by the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, is selling 24 million shares, or 30 per cent of its share capital, through the deal.

It has set the final offer price at 128 riyals per share, according to a statement from Riyad Capital, the financial adviser, book runner and lead manager of the transaction.

A maximum of 7.2 million shares representing, 30 per cent of the total shares offered by Elm, will be allocated to individual investors, Riyad Capital said. The subscription process for individual investors will start on February 3.

The deal is the latest in a series of IPOs on Saudi Arabia’s bourse, the biggest in the Arab world by market value, as companies seek to tap into public markets for liquidity to expand operations.

There was a sharp rise in the number of listings last year amid a rebound in the kingdom's economy.

In December, the Saudi Tadawul Group, the owner and operator of the kingdom’s stock exchange, listed on the bourse, raising $1bn in what was one of the biggest exchange IPOs in the region.

Riyadh utility developer Acwa Power also raised $1.2bn in its listing on theTadawul in 2021.

Elm offers ready-made and customised digital solutions in several sectors. It was established in 1986 as a research company investing in localising technology, and later entered into the e-security sector, according to its website.

It was transformed into a joint-stock company owned by the PIF in 2007, which helped it to expand beyond technology in 2009 and go global in 2016.

In October, Elm joined a series A funding round for telehealth start-up Cura, which raised $15m and also drew the participation of Saudi Aramco's entrepreneurship arm Wa'ed.