Saudi state-owned media giant MBC priced its initial public offering (IPO) at the top of the previously announced range, selling its shares at 25 riyals ($6.67) each on Tuesday.
MBC plans to float 10% of its share capital on the Saudi Exchange with the company’s market capitalisation expected to be 8.3 billion riyals ($2.21 billion) at listing.
It operates 13 free-to-air TV channels and runs the streaming-platform Shahid, known as the Netflix of the Middle East.
There has been a flurry of Saudi IPOs in recent years as the government privatises state assets and encourages private sector companies to list in a bid to deepen capital markets and attract investment, part of a reform push aimed at cutting the Kingdom’s reliance on oil.
State-owned Al Istedamah Holding held 60% of MBC and Saudi businessman Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim held 40%, according to company records. A senior government official previously confirmed that the Ministry of Finance owns Istedamah.
MBC’s Chief Executive Officer Sam Barnett previously said that neither stakeholder would sell their shares and the shareholdings would be diluted proportionally following the IPO.
The government took a majority stake in the group after a 2018 crackdown on corruption that saw MBC’s founder and chairman Ibrahim Al Ibrahim detained in the Ritz Carlton in Riyadh along with several hundred other businessmen and princes.
Reuters