Asyad announces final IPO price at the top of the range

(Posted on 06/03/25)

Asyad Shipping Company SAOG (under transformation), one of the world’s largest diversified maritime providers and a global leader in deep-sea transportation, has announced the final offer price and demand levels for its initial public offering on the Muscat Stock Exchange.

The final offer price has been set at Bzs 123 per share, at the top of the previously announced offer price range of Bzs 117 to Bzs 123 per share, raising gross proceeds of c. OMR 128.1 million (c. USD 332.8 million) for Asyad Group SAOC. Based on the final offer price, Asyad Shipping’s market capitalisation upon listing will be c. OMR 641 million (c. USD 1.66 billion).

The Offering comprised of a total of 1,041,748,856 existing shares by Asyad Group, representing 20% of Asyad Shipping’s total issued share capital. Of those, 25% of Offer Shares were allocated for Category II (Retail Investor) applicants and 75% of Offer Shares were allocated for Category I (Institutional Investor) applicants. In the Category I tranche, 30% of Offer Shares were allocated to the two anchor investors, Mars Development and Investment LLC and Falcon Investments LLC, a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority, who committed to subscribe for 10% and 20% of the Offer Shares respectively, at Bzs 123 per share.

Asyad Shipping, in collaboration with Asyad Group, appointed Ubhar Capital SAOC as the price stabilization manager and liquidity provider for the Offering. Asyad Group has allocated OMR 10 million from the IPO proceeds to Ubhar Capital to conduct stabilizing transactions in the Company’s shares at the final offer price commencing on the first day of trading and for a period of up to 30 calendar days thereafter. The Asyad Shipping IPO will be the first IPO in Oman where a price stabilization manager has been appointed.

The backing of Asyad Shipping’s Offering by prominent local and regional anchor investors played a significant role in the strong demand seen during the Offering. Mars Development and Investment LLC and Falcon Investments LLC, a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority, showed substantial confidence in Asyad Shipping’s competitive strengths such as its revenue backlog of USD 1.9 billion, its backing by the Oman Investment Authority (“OIA”), its highly experienced management team, and its industry-leading adj. EBITDA margin of 68%. Their participation provided crucial momentum, contributing to the oversubscription levels experienced in the IPO.

ASC shares are expected to commence trading on or around 12 March 2025 under the ticker symbol “ASCO” and ISIN OM0000010120.