EMPOWER raises over $724 million through its IPO

Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (EMPOWER) has announced that it has successfully completed the book-build and public subscription process for its initial public offering (IPO) and has set the final offer price for its IPO at $0.36 per share, at the top of the price range.

This will result in approximately $724 million of gross proceeds for Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and Emirates Power Investment LLC (Emirates Power), an indirectly wholly owned subsidiary of Dubai Holding LLC (Dubai Holding), upon settlement.

Following the completion of the EMPOWER IPO, DEWA and Emirates Power will continue to own 56% and 24% of Empower’s existing share capital, respectively. Upon listing, EMPOWER will become the world’s largest district cooling services provider on a stock exchange.

Investors Keen

The offering saw significant investor interest, with total gross demand for the IPO over $33.92 billion at the final offer price, implying an oversubscription level of 47x times for all tranches combined at the final offer price. The Qualified Investor tranche attracted demand across the globe of $28.59 billion, implying an oversubscription level of 46x at the final offer price.

The retail offering saw tremendous appetite from local investors with demand collected in excess of $5.34 billion implying oversubscription levels of 49x. The overwhelming investor demand underlines EMPOWER’s compelling investment proposition and reflects strong confidence in Dubai’s long-term growth prospects and critical infrastructure.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Chairman of Empower, said: “The huge success of the privatisation programme so far shows that Dubai is well on its way to achieving the vision of the wise leadership to increase the total volume of its stock markets to $820 billion. A vital part of the entire financial ecosystem is the process by which companies raise capital, including by going public. This incredible investor interest is deeply encouraging and illustrates that Dubai is a thriving, dynamic international financial centre with real depth and growing demand for its capital markets. It demonstrates EMPOWER’s strong fundamentals and our company’s value proposition.”

Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO of EMPOWER, said: “This is a historic moment for both Empower and Dubai, and marks an important milestone in the emirate’s ambition to be a leading international financial centre. It reflects the deep confidence of investors in the role that Empower plays in supporting the city’s fast-paced economic growth. Mega-trends such as expansion in infrastructure, a rising population and warmer climates continue to accelerate the need for more efficient and sustainable cooling at scale. Our strategy is to support Dubai’s energy transition, by providing access to sustainable cooling solutions, increasing energy efficiency and encouraging responsible energy consumption. We look forward to continuing to deliver on our strategy as a listed business.”

EMPOWER is expected to commence trading on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) on 15November, 2022. At the listing, the company will have a market capitalisation of $3.6 billion. Investors who participated in the UAE Retail Offering will be notified of their allocation of shares via SMS by 14 November 2022.