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Tag: ipo

  • Shisha Producer Calls Banks to Pitch for IPO

    Shisha Producer Calls Banks to Pitch for IPO

    Image: Дмитрий Скорина | Adobe Stock

    Advanced Inhalation Rituals (AIR), a Dubai-based producer of shisha molasses, has invited banks to pitch for roles in its planned initial public offering (IPO), which is expected next year, according to anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter, which is not public, reports Reuters.

    AIR has not decided on a listing venue yet, but Abu Dhabi and Dubai are among the options.

    Majority owner of AIR, Britain’s Kingsway Capital, is looking to follow a dual-track process where a seller pursues a sale and an IPO simultaneously. Rothschild and Co. is acting as financial advisor to AIR.

    Last month, Kingsway Capital started meetings with tobacco firms such as BAT and Japan Tobacco.

  • Al Fakher Considering Going Public

    Al Fakher Considering Going Public

    Credit: Nomad Soul

    The Dubai-based shisha manufacturer Al Fakher has hired Rothschild and Co. to advise on strategic options, including a possible initial public offering, two sources familiar with the matter said, reports Reuters.

    An IPO would take place in the region, either on Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul or the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the sources said.

    Al Fakher is owned by Advanced Inhalation Rituals, a private company that is majority owned by London-based Kingsway Capital.

    Al Fakher, which was founded in 1999, makes flavored shisha molasses for use in hookah and is sold in more than 100 countries, according to its website.

    Middle East companies bucked global trends last year to raise about $22 billion through IPOs, according to Dealogic, which was more than half the total for the wider Europe, Middle East and Africa region.