Saudi, Egypt lead MENA IPO activity in Q3 2019: EY

The Initial Public Offering (IPO) deal activity in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region halved in Q3 2019 year-on-year (YoY) with just two deals – one in Saudi Arabia and, second, in Egypt – compared to four deals listed in Q3 2018, according to a new report by EY.

Overall, the IPO deal value in the MENA region decreased by 45.3 percent to $190 million in Q3 2019, down from $347.3 million in Q3 2018.

In July 2019, Ataa Educational Company, one of Saudi Arabia’s biggest private school operators, raised $93 million with its listing – the fourth listing in Riyadh this year, EY report said.

Egypt led IPO deal value in the region with its listing of Fawry for Banking Technology and Electronic Payments, raising $97 million in August 2019, EY report added.

“IPO listings in the MENA region may have slowed down during the third quarter of this year versus the prior year, but there remains a strong pipeline of companies finalizing the details of their listing for a launch in the next twelve months both regionally and internationally,” Gregory Hughes, MENA IPO Leader, EY, said.