Saudi Arabia’s First Mills plans to list 30% stake on Tadawul

Company is selling 16.65 million shares with the offering running until June 7

Saudi Arabia's First Milling, which plans to list its shares on the Tadawul exchange, is involved in the production of flour products. Reuters

Saudi Arabia’s First Milling Company, commonly known as First Mills, plans to list a 30 per cent stake on the kingdom's Tadawul exchange amid a boom in initial public offerings in the Gulf following strong investor demand.

The company is selling 16.65 million shares, with the listing date to be determined later, it said on Thursday.

The offering began on May 18 and ends on June 7, the company's website said.

The price range has been set between 55 Saudi riyals ($14.66) and 60 riyals per share, implying a market capitalisation between 3.05 billion riyals and 3.3 billion at the time of listing.

The final offer price will be determined at the end of a book-building period and will be announced on May 31, it said.

First Mills, set up in 2017, is involved in the production of flour products and wheat by-products such as animal feed, bran and wheat germ.

It offers more than 48 products to a diverse group of customers, including business-to-business clients such as large industrial players, commercial bakeries, restaurants and catering businesses, as well as wholesalers and retail customers.

It distributes its products across the kingdom, including Makkah, Al Qassim, Tabuk and the Eastern Region.

The company recorded a sales volume of 1.28 million tonnes for the year ending December 2021.

“First Mills’ IPO marks an important milestone in our journey and a key step towards cementing our position as a leading player in the Saudi milling sector,” Abdullah Ababtain, its chief executive said.

“We have a clear and focused strategy that will allow us to boost our market share and capture the strong potential growth in the market.

“This includes building scale and capacities, enhancing operational and financial efficiencies, expanding into new product categories, improving distribution and sales channels, and sustainably growing revenue and profit.”

The company has appointed SNB Capital as the financial adviser, lead manager and bookrunner and SNB Capital and GIB Capital as underwriters for the offering.

Middle East IPOs raised more than $23 billion in 2022, compared with $7.52 billion raised from 20 offerings in the previous year.

That was the highest share for the Gulf after 2019 when Saudi Aramco went public in a $29 billion offering, the world’s largest.

Between announced and rumoured IPO plans, the GCC region is expected to float 27 to 39 companies this year, Kamco Invest said.

Saudi Arabia has 23 companies waiting to list on the country’s stock exchange, Mohammed ElKuwaiz, chairman of the Capital Market Authority, said this year.

The Saudi market regulator is currently “reviewing” 77 applications for an IPO, and there are 70 signed mandates with financial intermediaries and advisers in the early part of the process, Mr ElKuwaiz said.