Books opened on Sunday for the SR1.8bn–SR1.88bn (US$479.9m–$501.2m) Tadawul IPO of Specialized Medical Company.

A total 75m secondary shares are on offer at SR24–SR25 each, valuing the company at SR6bn–SR6.25bn off a 30% free-float.

Insurance company Tawuniya has agreed to subscribe for nearly 5.9m shares to give it a 2.4% stake in the company.

SMC works with Tawuniya and the region's other large insurers Bupa Arabia and Medgulf.

Tawuniya was a cornerstone on the SR1.69bn IPO of Almoosa Health at the end of 2024, taking a combined 22% of the deal with conglomerate Alfozan Holding.

In common with many recent Saudi deals, SMC is positioned as a growth story with plans to add three hospitals by 2029 to the two it has already, more than doubling the number of beds to 1,276 from 578, though it isn't raising funds in the IPO.

Its capacity puts it behind peers such as Fakeeh Care Group, Dr Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services, Middle East Healthcare Company and Mouwasat Medical Services Company, which have between 952 and 2,965 beds.

They have market capitalisations between SR5.89bn and SR94.5bn and trade at 11.8–30.2 times 2025 EV/Ebitda, with Dr Sulaiman trading at the highest multiple.

Institutional books close on Thursday, pricing will be announced on May 26 and a retail offer for up to 20% of the deal will be open on May 28–29.

Final allocations will be announced on June 4 and excess subscriptions refunded the same day.

Total expenses of the offering are expected at SR41m.

SNB Capital and EFG Hermes are joint financial advisers and bookrunners, with the two banks underwriting 82.9% and 17.1%, respectively.

Source: IFR