Dubai telecoms operator du has completed its secondary public offering that will raise about Dh3.15 billion ($858 million) for its selling shareholder, amid strong investor interest.
Mubadala Investment Company, through its unit Mamoura Diversified Global Holding, sold 342 million shares, representing 7.55 per cent of du’s share capital and 75 per cent of Mamoura’s stake in the company in the offer.
The offering strengthens du’s capital markets profile, with "strong demand" received from both international and local investors, said chief executive Fahad Al Hassawi.
"The offering increases du’s free float to 27.7 per cent, enhancing trading liquidity, broadening access to a wider base of investors,” he said.
“By increasing liquidity, the transaction … paves the way for potential inclusion in international indices such as MSCI, further diversifying our shareholder base and further strengthening our capital markets presence."
The offering consisted of two tranches. The UAE retail offer, comprising 5 per cent of the total offer shares, was open to individual and other investors. And up to 95 per cent of the offer shares were allocated to qualified institutional investors in the UAE and globally.
Each subscriber in the UAE retail offer is guaranteed a minimum allocation of 500 offer shares, du said, adding that excess funds will be refunded to retail investors no later than September 16.
A share sale in the telecom sector provides an attractive avenue for investors to diversify their portfolios, especially in the UAE, du's chief financial officer Kais Ben Hamida told The National in an interview last week.
Du, which is seeking to expand aggressively, has boosted its operations and services over the past year as market dynamics change with emerging technologies, including AI, the cloud and big data.
Last October, the company unveiled du Tech and du Infra, after introducing du Pay, in a major shake-up to its business-to-business operations aimed at addressing growing demand for digital transformation services in the UAE.
As of June 30, du had more than 9.1 million mobile subscribers.
