Axiom Telecom, a UAE telecoms equipment vendor, is pressing ahead with its IPO plans.
The IPO, announced on 13 October, was slated to raise US$300m (E220m), a source familiar with the matter told TelecomFinance in October. The company is selling 35% of…
Axiom Telecom, a UAE telecoms equipment vendor, is pressing ahead with its IPO plans.
The IPO, announced on 13 October, was slated to raise US$300m (E220m), a source familiar with the matter told TelecomFinance in October. The company is selling 35% of its equity and is pricing the offer at between US$0.80 and US$1.15 a share, valuing the company at up to US$1.1bn, according to the Wall Street Journal, which attended a press conference in Dubai about the IPO.
The share sale will run between 21 November and 3 December, and is an institutional placement only.
The Axiom IPO would be the first IPO on the fledgling Nasdaq Dubai exchange since Damas, the jewellers, in 2008. Axiom has mandated Deutsche Bank to organise the IPO and conduct the due diligence process.
Axiom has very little debt on its books. It had arranged a US$400m (E292m) revolver, which was its first foray into the international capital markets, but paid this off last year. Tecom Investments, part of sovereign wealth fund Dubai Holdings, owns 40% of Axiom. Dubai Holdings is restructuring its portfolio of investments to raise capital, and generating some cash from a quick IPO would be quite attractive to the SWF.
The retailer told Zawya Dow Jones that the proceeds from the IPO would be used to strengthen the company’s balance sheet to support future growth requirements and to reduce reliance on existing borrowing lines. About US$100m (E73m) will be used towards repaying a part of the current portion of Axiom Telecom’s existing bank debt.
Representatives from Axiom Telecom were not available for comment at the time of going to press.
