Clifford Chance acts as underwriters’ counsel to Lulu Retail Holdings Plc on its US$1.72 billion IPO and listing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX)

15 November 2024

Omar Rashid, Mansoor Alhagbani, Christopher Roe, Drew Rundus, Rezwan Azam, Terrence Moloney, Sultan Alfayez, Massimiliano Valli, Jake DuCharme, Noura Alassaf, Sami Rahim, Ines Teixeira, Sarah Wetzel
Riyadh (AS&H Clifford Chance), Dubai, London

Clifford Chance acts as underwriters’ counsel to Lulu Retail Holdings Plc on its US$1.72 billion IPO and listing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX)

Global law firm Clifford Chance has acted as underwriter’s counsel on the initial public offering (IPO) and listing on the ADX of Lulu Retail Holdings PLC (Lulu), which runs one of the Middle East's biggest hypermarket chains,. The offering raised gross proceeds of AED 6.32 billion (c. $1.72 billion), making it the largest UAE IPO of 2024 to date.

The Offering achieved aggregate demand of over AED 135 billion (c. $37 billion) from local, regional, and international investors, a record for a non-Government UAE IPO over the past 10 years, with the IPO oversubscribed by more than 25 times across all tranches (excluding Cornerstone Investors).

Founded in 1974 by Indian businessman Yusuff Ali, Lulu has grown to become the largest pan-GCC full-line retailer with 240 stores across all six GCC countries.

The underwriters were Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Emirates NBD Capital PSC and HSBC Bank Middle East Limited who were also Joint Global Coordinators and Alrajhi Capital Company, EFG-Hermes UAE Limited acting in conjunction with EFG-Hermes UAE LLC, First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, Goldman Sachs International and International Securities L.L.C. who also acted as Joint Bookrunners.

The cross-border team was led by ECM partner Omar Rashid (Dubai and Riyadh), with support from partners Mansoor AlHagbani (Riyadh) and Christopher Roe (London) and US Securities Partner Drew Rundus (London).

The core transaction team consisted of lead senior associate Rezwan Azam (Dubai), supported by counsels Terrence Moloney (Dubai) and Sultan AlFayez (Riyadh), senior associates Massimiliano Valli (Dubai) and Jake DuCharme (London), associates Ismaila Ngum (Dubai), Noura Alassaf (Riyadh), Sami Rahim (Dubai), Ines Teixeira (London) and Sarah Wetzel (London).

Clifford Chance has one of the largest, most experienced, and dedicated ECM practices in the Middle East with an exceptionally strong track record of advising on some of the largest, most innovative and most complex deals in the region. This includes recently advising on the IPOs of Dubai Taxi Company,
Investcorp Capital and Americana Restaurants.