JEDDAH, 3 December 2005 — The Saudi family business forum to be held in Riyadh on Dec. 18 will focus on requirements and procedures to take family businesses public. An elite group of experts will discuss the process for initial public offerings (IPOs).
In addition, some major Saudi family businesses, which have already gone public, will share their experiences in this regard, said Basil M. Al-Ghalayini, CEO of BMG Financial Advisors, at a press conference here on Thursday.
Al-Ghalayini, who is organizing this forum in association with the Family Business Academy and the Saudi Investment Bank, stated that “Even though it is time to take businesses public, it is not that easy as it sounds. There are organizational, financial, and legal requirements to be taken care of to assure the success of the IPO. In addition, we need to take into consideration how, when and why we are taking the particular business public.”
He said about 300 family companies are now ready to become joint stock companies. He also said that family firms represented more than 80 percent of total companies in the Kingdom.
What makes this forum special is that it exhibits the different phases of public offering, starting with the decision to go public till the post-IPO phases.
The forum will have different sessions. Each session will focus on a different phase. One session will discuss the decision-making process that family business leaders will go through while considering taking their business public. That will include different factors they need to consider while taking this decision.
Another session will focus on the perpetrations the family business should make before applying for the offering. That includes organizational restructuring and change of legal status of the business.
Once prepared, the countdown to IPO will start. That includes valuation of the company, application to the Capital Market Authority (CMA) for listing, and related documentation. A special session will discuss the steps to be taken by the issuer as well the internal process of the CMA to evaluate and approve that application.
Finally, a designated session will be dedicated for discussing post-IPO requirements and to maintain the interest of the investing public in the company’s shares. This includes equity research coverage and investor relation management.