The founders of Marka, a nascent Dubai retailer planning its IPO, have signed up for 225 million shares in the company.
That works out to 45 per cent of Marka’s planned float. The rest of the shares are to be sold to the public.
The company said its 150-plus founders snapped up the shares, which are valued at Dh1 apiece.
The company is planning to list on the Dubai Financial Market. Its offering would be the market's first IPO in five years. It would also make Marka the first listed retailer in the UAE.
The founders’ share purchase “paves the way for obtaining final regulatory approvals for issuing the remaining shares through an IPO”, said Mahdi Mattar, the chief executive of CAPM Investment and the lead manager of Marka’s proposed offering.
The company has not yet set a date for the IPO.
The UAE’s retail sector is particularly attractive given high household spending. The market is forecast to touch US$347.86 billion by 2018, growing by an average of 10.4 per cent a year, according to Business Monitor International.
Marka's initial investors include Emiratis and non-local investors. Jamal Al Hai, the executive senior vice-president of Dubai Airports, is the chairman of Marka's founders' committee.
CAPM Investment has interests in investment banking, asset management and financial advisory and has Dh55 million in capital. It became a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi-listed Finance House in November.
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