Americana starts trading after historic dual listing

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Americana Restaurants International has completed a historic concurrent dual listing on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and the Saudi Exchange under the ticker symbol 'AMR' on ADX and 'Americana' in Saudi, a first for the region.

Americana Restaurants International is the largest out-of-home dining and quick service restaurant operator in the Middle East & North Africa (Mena) and Kazakhstan.

In its historic Initial Public Offering (IPO), Americana Restaurants raised $1.80 billion in gross proceeds, equivalent to AED6.62 billion or SR6.77 billion, offering 30% of the Company’s total issued share capital.

Significant demand

Priced at the top of the Offer Price Range (AED2.62 per share in the UAE and SR2.68 per share in Saudi Arabia), the Offering drew significant demand from institutional and retail investors, generating total orders of $105 billion (equivalent to AED386 billion or SR394 billion) and was 58 times oversubscribed.

Based on the Final Offer Price, Americana Restaurants has a market capitalisation of $6.01 billion (equivalent to AED22.07 billion or SR22.58 billion) at the time of listing.

As the leading restaurant platform in the region, the Company provides a large and growing addressable population of over 270 million with access to an extensive network of global and iconic restaurant brands, including KFC, Pizza Hut, Hardee's, Krispy Kreme, TGI Friday’s, Costa Coffee, Peet’s Coffee and Baskin Robbins.

Opening bell

Mohamed Ali Rashed Alabbar, Chairman of Americana Restaurants, rang the market opening bell at the official dual listing ceremony at ADX, accompanied by Hisham Khalid Malak, Chairman of ADX; and Raid Abdullah Ismail, Board Member, Americana Restaurants, rang the market opening bell at the Saudi Exchange, accompanied by Mohammed Al Rumaih, CEO of Saudi Exchange, along with other Board members, senior executives and officials from the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Malak commented: “ADX continues to foster collaboration across the region and is proud to play an increasingly central and pivotal role in the regional capital market landscape. The dual listing of Americana Restaurants on ADX and Saudi Exchange is another great step in this direction and is a prime example of how Abu Dhabi continues to enhance its status as a premier investment destination and home to both international and institutional capital.

“In support of Abu Dhabi’s sustainable growth and diversification strategy, we continue to attract top tier issuers to our market, expand our offering and enhance the diversification of our growing and dynamic capital market ecosystem.”

Tranformational journey

Speaking at the dual listing ceremony, Alabbar said: "The successful conclusion of our IPO is the culmination of Americana Restaurants’ transformational journey, as well as a remarkable milestone for the growth and depth of the region’s financial markets. The extraordinary demand we drew from a geographically diverse investor base clearly demonstrates our new shareholders’ confidence in our business, our extraordinary team, and our ability to deliver attractive long-term returns.

“We welcome our new shareholders and look to the next chapter of growth. Americana Restaurants will continue to provide investors exposure to a unique value proposition in a large and relatively underpenetrated sector, with significant potential for further expansion.”

Al Rumaih said: “Over the last few years, the Saudi Exchange has implemented a range of initiatives to enhance the infrastructure of the Saudi capital market. The dual listing of Americana Restaurants is the first of its kind to take place on the Saudi Exchange, paving the way for other non-Saudi issuers to offer their shares and list on the Saudi Exchange, contributing to further diversification and broadening of the opportunities available in the Saudi capital market.”

Free float

Adeptio AD Investments Ltd, a special-purpose vehicle owned indirectly by the Public Investment Fund and Alabbar, sold 2,527,089,930 existing ordinary shares in the Offering, representing 30% of the company's issued share capital. The net proceeds of the Offering are received by the Selling Shareholder. Immediately following listing, Americana Restaurants will have a free float of 33.97% of its issued share capital.

The Daily Price Fluctuation Limit of ±30%, which normally applies to newly listed companies on the Saudi Exchange, will not apply to Americana Restaurants’ shares during the first three trading days, in alignment with the applicable rules of ADX. Shares traded in both Saudi Exchange and ADX will not have any trading limits in the first three days. However, after the first three trading days, the shares listed on the Saudi Exchange and on ADX will be subject to the normal fluctuation limits that apply to all shares traded on the two exchanges.