Muscat: Asyad Shipping Company, currently undergoing transformation, is recognized as one of the largest diversified maritime service providers globally and a leader in deep-sea transportation. On Tuesday, the company announced the final offer price and demand levels for its initial public offering (IPO) on the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX).
The final offer price has been established at 123 baisas per share, which is at the upper end of the previously indicated price range of 117 baisas to 123 baisas per share. This pricing is expected to generate gross proceeds of OMR128.1 million ($332.8 million) for Asyad Group, the selling shareholder.
With this final offer price, Asyad Shipping's market capitalization at the time of listing will reach OMR641 million ($1.66 billion).
The offering consists of a total of 1,041,748,856 existing shares (Offer Shares) from Asyad Group, accounting for 20% of Asyad Shipping's total issued share capital. Of these shares, 25% were designated for Category II (Retail Investor) applicants, while 75% were reserved for Category I (Institutional Investor) applicants. Within the Category I allocation, 30% of the Offer Shares were assigned to two anchor investors: Mars Development and Investment and Falcon Investments, a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority, who have committed to subscribe for 10% and 20% of the Offer Shares, respectively, at the price of 123 baisas per share.
In partnership with Asyad Group, Asyad Shipping has appointed Ubhar Capital as the price stabilization manager and liquidity provider for the offering.
Asyad Group has set aside OMR10 million from the IPO proceeds for Ubhar Capital to facilitate stabilizing transactions in the company's shares at the final offer price, starting on the first day of trading and continuing for up to 30 calendar days thereafter.
The Asyad Shipping IPO marks a significant milestone as it will be the first in Oman to appoint a price stabilization manager. The strong demand observed during the Offering was significantly bolstered by the support of notable local and regional anchor investors.
Mars Development and Investment, along with Falcon Investments—part of the Qatar Investment Authority—demonstrated considerable confidence in Asyad Shipping’s competitive advantages. These include a revenue backlog of $1.9 billion, support from the Oman Investment Authority (OIA), a highly skilled management team, and an industry-leading adjusted EBITDA margin of 68%.
Their involvement was instrumental in generating momentum, leading to the oversubscription levels seen in the IPO.
Trading of ASC shares is anticipated to begin on or around 12 March 2025, under the ticker symbol “ASCO” and ISIN OM0000010120.
