Lulu Retail shares drop slightly on first day of trading after raising $1.7 billion in IPO
Lulu Retail Holdings’ shares dropped by 0.5% on their first trading day Thursday, showing weak market confidence after the company raised $1.7 billion (AED 6.3 billion) in an IPO that saw high demand last week.
Shares Drop
The company’s shares were trading at $0.55 (AED 2.03) at 9:45 am in Abu Dhabi, slightly lower than the offer price of $0.56 (AED 2.04), the top of its expected IPO price range.
The IPO saw strong interest, attracting over $37 billion (AED 135 billion) in orders, with demand exceeding available shares by 25 times.
By 10:30 am Thursday, 147.4 million Lulu shares had already been traded.
Lulu Retail offered 3.1 billion shares, the biggest IPO in the UAE this year, representing 30% of the company’s total shares. Due to high demand, Lulu raised the offer size by 5%.
Founded in 1974 by Indian billionaire Yusuff Ali, Lulu has become the GCC’s top grocery retailer, with over 240 stores. With its subsidiaries, Lulu is the GCC’s largest full-range retailer by space, sales, and store count.
More than 600,000 people shop at Lulu daily, and the company sources products from 85 countries to serve shoppers from 130 countries.
Large Value
Lulu Retail has a market value of $5.7 billion (or AED 20.97 billion) following its first day of trading on Thursday, according to the Abu Dhabi stock exchange.
Wealth
Yusuff Ali’s wealth is estimated at $7.1 billion as of November 14, based on Forbes estimates, placing him third on Forbes Middle East’s list of the Richest Billionaires for 2024.
Published: 14th November 2024
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