Saudi Arabia was identified as having the most active IPO market in the GCC in Q2 2015, accounting for 75% of the total number of IPOs and 87% of total money raised in the quarter, a total of $1bn.
The data, from PricewaterhouseCoopers showed four IPOs in the GCC with total proceeds of $1.15 billion compared to one IPO in the previous quarter of the year raising $185.4 million. The well received and largest IPO in the quarter was by Saudi Ground Services Company which raised a total of $751.9 million and listed on the Saudi Stock Market (Tadawul).
Steve Drake, Head of PwC’s Capital Markets and Accounting Advisory Services team in the Middle East, said: “Despite concerns over regional instability we saw several companies come to market this quarter that had been in the IPO pipeline. The amounts raised demonstrated that there is still equity investor appetite to invest in the right company. We would expect to see this trend continue once the market reopens after the summer period as other pipeline companies come to market.”
He added “it is perhaps too early to predict how the opening of the market to foreign investors will impact the number of IPO’s, although we would expect the number to increase over time as foreign investors gain confidence in the Saudi Arabia market.”
