APM Terminals Bahrain, the exclusive operator of Bahrain's Khalifa Bin Salman Port (KBSP), said its BD11.880 million ($31.58 million) IPO was met with strong demand from local and regional institutions and retail investors.

The demand resulted in an oversubscribed offer with funded applications totalling 6.8 times the institutional offer size and 2.2 times the retail offer size, said a statement from SICO, a leading regional asset manager, broker and investment bank.

The overall oversubscription resulted in funded applications of 5.4 times the offer size. These results reflect the provisional reconciliation of the data related to the application forms received, it said.

The transaction comprised an offering of 18,000,000 shares 70 per cent of which were 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).

The IPO generated total demand for 97.4 million shares or BD64.3 million ($170.93 million) between both the institutional and retail tranches resulting in an oversubscription from funded applications 5.4 times the offer size.

A total applications for 85.6 million shares, which translates into BD56.5 million ($150.19 million), was received through the institutional tranche, while the retail tranche received applications for a total of 11.8 million shares, which translates into BD7.8 million ($20.73 million).

The retail tranche will be allotted a number of shares that may be less than the initial minimum retail allocation up to (15,000 shares) for retail applicants of 15,000 shares or less (as further detailed in the IPO prospectus registered with the CBB on October 29).

Najla Al Shirawi, chief executive officer, SICO, said: “The overwhelming response that we received is a strong vote of confidence in the ability of APM Terminals Bahrain to continue to generate value as the exclusive port operator of Bahrain’s Khalifa Bin Salman Port and the resilience of Bahrain’s economy as the kingdom continues to take serious steps towards the reform and diversification of its economy.

“As the mandated lead manager, underwriter, market maker and participating broker for the IPO, SICO has been able to witness first-hand the demand that was received from both inside and outside Bahrain particularly institutional investors from across the GCC,” said Al Shirawi.

“We are also very proud of our investment banking team’s ability to successfully manage the transaction and generate demand on such an accelerated timeline. The results of the transaction position the APM Terminals IPO as the most successful IPO in Bahrain over the last 10 years and is testament to the confidence placed in our firm as a lead manager able to deliver the highest success rates, we would like to extend our utmost appreciation to the Central Bank of Bahrain, Bahrain Bourse and Bahrain Clear on their continuous support and guidance,” added Al Shirawi.

APM Terminals Bahrain chief executive officer and managing director Mark Hardiman said: “We are very encouraged by the public support we have received for our IPO which reflects strong investor belief in the company and recognises this unique opportunity of investing in Bahrain’s only commercial port.”

“We are delighted to welcome our corporate and retail investors from Bahrain and across the region to be a part of our family, and support the kingdom’s potential economic development,” he said.
 
“We would also like to acknowledge the role played by SICO, our lead partner, and other key partners for managing our IPO journey in an efficient manner with their continuous support and guidance. We look forward to taking on our new corporate role as a public-listed entity,” added Hardiman.

Bahrain Clear’s vice chairman and managing director Sheikh Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said: “We are pleased with the oversubscription results of the APM Terminals Bahrain IPO which positively reflects investors’ confidence and cements Bahrain Clear’s role as a Clearing House offering value-added services covering both pre and post-listing, which comes in line with Bahrain Clear’s objective of enhancing and developing services provided to investors and issuers alike.”

Allotment notices and refunds will be distributed on November 29 and December 3, respectively.

APM Terminals Bahrain will start trading on the Bahrain Bourse on December 9, under the symbol APMTB. SICO will provide price stabilisation and market making services for APM Terminals Bahrain from the start of trading.

Following the successful public offering, the ownership structure of APM Terminals Bahrain is as follows: APM Terminals BV (64 per cent), YBA Kanoo Holdings of Bahrain (16 per cent), and IPO applicants (20 per cent).  

APM Terminals BV is 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, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service