KFC And Pizza Hut Owner In Mena Proposes A $2 Billion IPO

The operator of KFC and Pizza Hut outlets in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) and Kazakhstan, Americana Restaurants International, plans an initial public offering of two billion dollars. Americana Restaurants International said on Wednesday that it would put 30 percent of its capital shares for trading on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and the Saudi Stock Exchange.

Americana Restaurants International is the largest out-of-home dining and quick service restaurant operator in the Mena region by a number of restaurants. The initial public offering consists of a sale of 2.527 billion existing ordinary shares of Americana Restaurants by selling shareholder Adeptio Investments AD Ltd.

KFC And Pizza Hut Operator In Mena Proposes A $2 Billion IPO

As per the Bloomberg report, the IPO could raise at least 2 billion dollars. It is expected that the offering size will be 30 percent of Americana Restaurants’ total issued share capital.

The initial public offering is expected to run from November 14 to November 21 for retail investors in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. For institutional investors, the initial public offering will be from November 14 to November 22. Shares for trading will be made available by December 6.

Ninety-six percent of the total issued share capital of Americana Restaurants is owned by Adeptio Investments. It is jointly held as an investment vehicle of Mohammed Ali Rashed Alabbar, founder of Emaar Properties, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). Mohamed Ali Rashed Alabbar is the chairman of Americana Restaurants International. He said that this initial public offering process is a major milestone in the company’s 50-plus-year history.

He said that they are proud of the fact that Americana Restaurants International is a GCC-born food and beverage champion. It has now grown to be the single largest restaurant chain in the Mena region and Kazakhstan.

With the help of a deeply committed and experienced management team, Americana Restaurants International has earned a reputation for being a remarkable operator of iconic global food brands like KFC and Pizza Hut. The company has best-in-class digital capabilities and a good track record of remarkable financial results, says Alabbar. He said that their restaurant platform serves the most popular food categories and delights millions of customers across the twelve countries they operate. The Americana Restaurant is also peerless in the region with the strength and diversity of iconic brands, combined with scale, growth, profitability, and cash generation. These make it a rare asset for the shareholders.

Alabbar said that the concurrent dual listing on both Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Saudi Stock Exchange is the first-of-its-kind transaction for both markets. He added that no company is more suited than Americana Restaurants International to be the torch-bearer. The company’s growth is accelerated with the help of macroeconomic and demographic tailwinds, and it is an exciting time to be inviting investors in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and internationally to share in the company’s journey to success. 

In April, it was said that First Abu Dhabi Bank, Goldman Sachs Group, and SNB Capital were working on the initial public offering. This could raise around one billion dollars and value Americana Restaurants International at around eight billion dollars. This was reported by Bloomberg. With regard to initial public offerings, this year Gulf markets have witnessed positive growth. It was mainly due to the war-driven surge in oil prices. In July this year, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) exchanges saw an increase in foreign inflows despite ongoing global volatility. This sent shares to their lowest levels in years because of inflation and interest rate concerns. Last year, Saudi Arabia’s stock market raised more than nine billion dollars through fifteen IPOs. This makes it one of the most active markets in Mena.