Oman’s second largest telco, Nawras, has priced the shares of its IPO at 702 baisa (E1.32), valuing the company at OR456m (E855m).
This was at the bottom of the price range which was set at between 702 baisa and 902 baisa (E1.69) per share.
The IPO was…
Oman’s second largest telco, Nawras, has priced the shares of its IPO at 702 baisa (E1.32), valuing the company at OR456m (E855m).
This was at the bottom of the price range which was set at between 702 baisa and 902 baisa (E1.69) per share.
The IPO was conducted through a book-building process – the first time this had been done in Oman.
The telco offered 40% of its equity to retail and institutional investors on the Muscat Stock Market and shareholders raised OR182m (E341m) from the sale of their shares.
QTel and Denmark’s TDC as well as local Omani partners – including the Ministry of Defence Pension Fund, Royal Office Pension Fund, Diwan of Royal Court Pension Fund, Internal Security Service Pension Fund and Sultan’s Special Force Pension Fund – sold their shares to new investors. But no new shares were issued.
As part of the terms of its licence, Nawras was required to launch an IPO. The company extended its offer for one week, as the appetite for the IPO among the retail investment community was not as strong as anticipated, claimed one banker who preferred to remain anonymous.
Following the IPO, 40% of Nawras’s shares will be in free float, while the Omani Qatari Telecommunications Company, controlled by Qtel, will retain 55% of the company and 5% will be held by the original Omani pension funds.
Bank Muscat was the sole issue manager for the IPO. Morgan Stanley, Bank Muscat and Qatar National Bank were joint lead managers to the IPO and Morgan Stanley and Bank Muscat were the joint bookrunners.
Representatives of Nawras and its advisers were unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.
The company was founded in 2004 by a consortium comprising Qatar incumbent Qtel, Danish telco TDC and a number of Omani investors.
