APM Terminals Bahrain, the exclusive operator of Bahrain’s Khalifa Bin Salman Port (KBSP), has announced the initial public offering (IPO) of 18,000,000 of its shares equating to an offer size of BD11.88 million ($31.2 million).

The IPO, which will offer 20 per cent of the company’s total issued share capital, is now open to Bahraini and non-Bahraini corporate and individual investors, starting November 8.

APM Terminals Bahrain is a joint-venture between Netherlands-based APM Terminals International BV (80 per cent) and YBA Kanoo Holdings of Bahrain (20 per cent), a leading diversified regional business group.

The offer shares are priced at BD0.660 per share, equating to a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 5.7x 2017’s net earnings of BD10.4 million. The IPO stands to raise BD 11.88 million, in what is the first IPO for a transport and logistics company in the Kingdom to list on the Bahrain Bourse.

Mark Hardiman, CEO/managing director, APM Terminals Bahrain said: “Today is a significant moment for APM Terminals Bahrain as we move forward to launch our IPO, with an opportunity to invest in a successful public-private partnership and Bahrain’s only commercial port.”

“Being the only commercial port, KBSP plays a vital role in the economic development of the Kingdom of Bahrain by facilitating smooth trade flows, which has been possible with APM Terminals bringing in the required expertise, competitiveness and operational excellence as per international standards.

“We are excited about the IPO and look forward with confidence to our next stage of growth for APM Terminals Bahrain as a publicly listed company,” he added.

The company which operates a global network of 74 operating ports and terminal facilities and over 117 Inland Services operations spread over 58 countries, is part of the A P Moller – Maersk group, a global business headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, with activities in the transport and logistics which includes the biggest container ship operator in the world.  

APM Terminals Bahrain has been successfully driving forward the operations of Kingdom’s only commercial port, KBSP since 2009. Over the past nine years, the company has contributed towards positioning KBSP as a hub with its world-class operations and logistical solutions, serving both the country and the wider region, in line with the Kingdom’s Economic Vision 2030.

Najla Al Shirawi, the CEO of Sico, the mandated lead manager for the IPO, said: “The much-anticipated public offering of APM Terminals is a proxy on the Kingdom’s growing non-oil economy, it offers investors extremely attractive pricing and a dividend yield of 15.5 per cent on the offer price based on dividends paid in 2017.

“Given the strong investor appetite that we have been witnessing we wanted to ensure that retail investors have equal access to the market opportunity by allocating up to 15,000 priority shares per retail applicant within their 30 per cent allocation. We look forward to a highly-successful, fully-subscribed IPO in the weeks to come.”

The APM Terminals Bahrain IPO offering will commence on November 8 and will be open for a period of 17 days until November 24 during which potential investors can submit their applications. The prospectus of APM Terminals Bahrain’s IPO is electronically available on the websites of Bahrain Bourse and the company as well as Sico.

IPO Application forms and printed copies of the prospectus can be collected from the ten approved branches of Ahli United Bank (AUB) in Bahrain, in Manama, Seef Mall (Muharraq), Gudaibiya, Riffa, Sitra, Budaiya, Hamad Town, Isa Town Mall, Exhibition road, Mercado Mall (Saar); as well as from Bahrain Bourse and APM Terminals Bahrain. Furthermore, clients of the brokerage units of any of Sico, AUB, Global Investment House BSC or BBK BSC can also apply for shares through their brokers.

Shares will subsequently be allotted on November 29.

The IPO is structured with 70 per cent of the shares on offer allocated to institutional investors (i.e., those applying for over 100,000 shares) while 30 per cent of the shares have been allocated to retail investors (i.e., those applying for up to 100,000 shares).

Immediately following the IPO, on December 9, the company’s shares will be listed and will commence trading on the Bahrain Bourse under the ticker symbol APMTB.  All applicants that have been allocated shares in the IPO are then eligible to trade by opening an account with a Bahrain Bourse registered brokerage if they do not already have one.

Furthermore, applicants allotted shares in the IPO will be eligible to any dividends distributed by the company for the full year ended 31 December 2018.The company has also appointed Sico to provide price stabilization and market making services from the start of trading on the Bahrain Bourse.

Sico is the mandated lead manager, underwriter and market maker, while AUB has been appointed as the receiving bank with ten of its branches across Bahrain registered for the IPO offer, along with two additional receiving desks at Bahrain Bourse and APM Terminals Bahrain during the offer period.

Bahrain Bourse is the Listing Exchange for the company and Trowers & Hamlins and Hassan Radhi & Associates are the legal advisors. KPMG Fakhro is the financial due diligence advisor and auditor to APM Terminals Bahrain; while Bahrain Clear is the allotment agent for the IPO and share registrar for the company. – TradeArabia News Service