Daman Investments, a Dubai- based finance house, is to seek a stock market listing via an initial public offering in the first quarter of next year.
Shehab Gargash, the chairman and founder of Daman, said that some 55 per cent of the company would be floated on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), once approval had been obtained from the regulator, the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA).
He declined to estimate the valuation of the IPO, which is being discussed with the regulator. But he said that none of the existing shareholders would sell down their holdings in the flotation.
“The funds raised will be used to scale up our existing businesses and invest in various opportunities in the UAE and wider region,” he said.
The Daman IPO is the latest in a series of public offerings on the DFM, where there have been successful debuts from Emaar Malls and Marka, while Amanat, a “greenfield” health and education company, is in the final stages of subscription.
Yesterday’s intention to float is the fruition of a long-standing ambition by the group, which was delayed by the onset of the global financial crisis in 2009. “This is the culmination of many years of hard work. Our listing will help broaden and deepen the UAE market for investors, and I expect more of the same in the coming months,” Mr Gargash said.
He added that he would welcome international interest in the shares, explaining that there had been significant interest in the company during a recent roadshow by the DFM in New York.
“There are a lot of banks in the UAE listed, but there had been a dearth in financial services,” he said. Daman’s business involves brokerage and asset management, venture capital, private equity and corporate advisory services.
In its annual review of investment prospects, Daman was overwhelmingly bullish in its outlook for the immediate future. “We think that valuation metrics in UAE bourses still look attractive until the end of the first quarter 2015, given the expected growth potential of the companies’ bottom lines,” the review said.
The review said that “measures undertaken for healthy real estate growth” had reduced the potential for a property “bubble”, and that IPO activity would continue. But the review warned about the risk of lack of liquidity in local makers over the longer term.
“Beyond Q1 2015 the outlook becomes ambiguous at best, given the increase in capital market activity in the form of IPOs,” the review said.
fkane@thenational.ae
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