Delivery Hero aims to raise up to $1.5 billion from Talabat's Dubai IPO

Shares expected to begin trading on the Dubai Financial Market on December 10

At the upper end of the price range, Talabat would have a market value of about Dh37.26 billion. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Delivery Hero's Middle Eastern food delivery service, Talabat, aims to raise as much as $1.52 billion through its Dubai Financial Market initial public offering, which sold out within minutes of opening for subscription, in a sign of strong demand for IPOs.

The Germany-based food delivery platform has set the offer price between Dh1.50 ($0.41) and Dh1.60 per share, with more than 3.49 billion shares being offered, or 15 per cent of its issued share capital, the company said on Tuesday.

At the upper end of the price range, Talabat would have a market value of about Dh37.26 billion.

The IPO subscription period starts today and closes on November 27 for UAE retail investors and on November 28 for professional investors.

The final offer price, which will be determined through a book building process, will be announced on November 29.

Shares are expected to begin trading on the DFM on December 10.

“With the region … experiencing favourable socioeconomic conditions with a large and growing addressable market, we look forward to welcoming new shareholders to join us on our journey,” Tomaso Rodriguez, chief executive of Talabat, said.

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  A delivery robot picking up an order from Starbucks in Dubai. All photos: Pawan Singh / The National

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  Seven ‘talabots’ will serve about 300 homes, delivering food and drink

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  Ordering from Starbucks, Oregeno and Lebanese restaurant On the Wood at Cedre Villas community centre, customers can look forward to delivery within 15 minutes

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  Customers can order through the Talabat app and track their delivery

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  The robots have sensors and algorithms that gauge surroundings and detect barriers in their path, keeping a safe distance from toddlers and pets

Emirates NBD’s asset management unit, Abu Dhabi Pension Fund, and Emirates International Investment Company will be cornerstone investors in the IPO with a total commitment of about Dh918 million.

Talabat, which offers delivery of food, groceries and convenience retail, has operations in the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Oman, Jordan and Iraq. For the month of September, its platform had more than six million active customers, more than 65,000 active restaurants, other groceries and retail vendors, as well as about 119,000 active riders.

The proceeds of the IPO will be used by Delivery Hero for “general corporate purposes and to further optimise its capital structure”, the company said last week.

Post-listing, Talabat plans to pay a minimum dividend of about $100 million in April 2025 for the fourth quarter of 2024. It will pay $400 million in two instalments in October 2025 and April 2026 for the financial results of 2025, the company said in September.

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UAE stock surpasses $1 trillion mark

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Talabat joins a growing list of companies seeking to list share on equity markets in the UAE amid continued economic momentum in the Arab world’s second-largest economy.

Lulu Group’s shares debuted on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange last week, after the company raised Dh6.32 billion from its IPO, making it the country's largest listing so far this year.

UAE stock markets have hit $1 trillion in market capitalisation, primarily driven by IPOs as well as strong earnings, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The combined market capitalisation of the UAE's two stock exchanges – ADX and DFM – exceeds that of Milan or Madrid. While significantly smaller than Saudi Arabia's Tadawul, the UAE's market is larger than most other emerging markets, except for a few like India and China, the data shows.