Emaar investors to be offered inside track on malls unit’s IPO

Shareholders will be given priority allotment in Emaar Malls Group, the developer said in a filing on the Dubai bourse.

Emaar Malls Group's biggest asset is The Dubai Mall, above, the most visited mall in the world with an estimated 75 million shoppers last year. Ali Haider / EPA

Investors holding Emaar stock at the close next Wednesday will be offered preferential access to subscribe in the initial public offering of the Dubai developer’s shopping malls and retail unit.

Shareholders will be given priority allotment in Emaar Malls Group (EMG), the developer said in a filing on the Dubai bourse.

Emaar plans to spin off at least 15 per cent of EMG in a book-building exercise by the international investment banks Bank of America Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley.

Ten per cent of the offering will be put aside for Emaar’s existing shareholders.

“It’s a very popular IPO and allotment is going to be tight for whichever category, whether it’s institutional or retail,” said Saleem Khokhar, the head of equities at National Bank of Abu Dhabi. “It’s certainly not going to be easy.”

EMG’s biggest asset is The Dubai Mall, the most visited mall in the world with an estimated 75 million shoppers last year. Assets also included in the IPO are Dubai Marina Mall, about 30 smaller retail centres, the Souk Al Bahar entertainment complex in Downtown Dubai and the Gold & Diamond Park for precious metals and jewellery.

Emaar rose 2.2 per cent yesterday to close at Dh11.55 a share on the Dubai Financial Market. The DFM General Index gained 1.1 per cent on the day to close at 5,171.95 points.

“It’s generally positive for the markets overall,” Mr Khokhar said. “Great to see some large IPOs going through and we have a few more in the pipeline.”

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