National Education’s IPO launched for retail investors

The National Company for Learning and Education (NCLE) has started its share offering for retail investors on Oct. 22, aiming to hike capital to SAR 430 million from SAR 300 million at a share price of SAR 19 per share.

The offering runs until Sunday, Oct. 28.

The firm’s strategic plans aim to expand its educational services across the Kingdom and increase its capacity from 17,200 students to 35,000 students by 2021, the firm’s deputy chairman and managing director, Khalid M. Ibrahim Al-Khudair, said.

The company seeks partnerships and deals with the Kingdom’s renowned schools, he said.

The decision to offer a 30.23 percent stake to the public comes as a result of the firm’s success over the past 60 years, as it aims to take advantage of the market’s appetite for new and serious investments, he said.

Receiving entities Alinma Bank, Riyad Bank, and NCB, are prepared to offer 10 percent of the offering size, or 1.3 million shares, allocated to retail investors, Mohammed Al Dukheil, CEO of lead manager Al Dukheil Financial has previously said.

The remaining 90 percent will be offered to institutional investors.

The minimum subscription for retail investors is 10 shares, while the maximum is 250,000 shares.

In May, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) has approved the listing of 30.23 percent or 13 million shares of NCLE, Argaam previously reported.

Last week, the firm said the share offering for institutional investors was 155 percent oversubscribed.

NCLE will be the first Tadawul-listed education company.