JEDDAH: Saudi Arabian group Al-Tayyar Travel is set to raise up to SR 1.37 billion selling a 30 percent stake in a listing in the first week of June, two sources familiar with the matter said.
The business group is offering 24 million shares to investors at SR 45-SR 57, two people familiar with the process told Reuters. The IPO is open to retail investors and expected to close on May 20.
The institutional part of the share sale has been oversubscribed nearly five times, arranging bank Samba Capital, the investment banking arm of Samba Financial Group, said recently.
"Demand for the IPO has been strong from the institutional side. It has been priced attractively and most bids were at the top end of the range," one person involved in the IPO process said, according to Reuters.
Renewed investor interest in local markets and ample institutional liquidity was expected to see the firm launch its IPO at the top end of the range.
Saudi Arabian stock market Tadawul has risen 10.7 percent in 2012 on rising volumes. Talks of a potential opening-up of the market to foreign investors has lured investor interest, reports say.
Al-Tayyar's first-quarter net income rose more than 20 percent, a second source said, adding the firm has paid a dividend of around SR 5 in the past couple of years.
IPO activity in the Gulf is showing signs of revival with bankers and analysts expecting Saudi Arabia to lead the region.
