AS&H Clifford Chance acts as issuer's counsel to MBC Group on its SAR 831 million (US$222 million) IPO and listing on the Saudi Stock Exchange
9 January 2024
AS&H Clifford Chance has acted as issuer's counsel to MBC Group (MBC), a leading media and entertainment company in the Middle East and North Africa region, on its initial public offering (IPO) and listing on the main market of the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul).
MBC offered new shares comprising 10% of its total share capital (following the capital increase). The IPO raised 90% of the total IPO offer volume from institutional investors and the remaining offer volume from Saudi retail investors. The institutional book-building process generated an order book of SAR54.5 billion, and was 66 times oversubscribed, with a total demand of US$14.5 billion.
The offering raised gross proceeds of approximately SAR831 million (equivalent to approximately US$222 million), which implied a market capitalisation of SAR8.3 billion (equivalent to approximately US$2.2 billion).
MBC operates 13 free-to-air TV channels and runs the Middle East streaming-platform Shahid. The transaction marks a significant milestone, unlocking substantial value for MBC's shareholders and underlining MBC's strategic commitment to advancing its core media and entertainment businesses.
The cross-border team was led by Riyadh-based ECM partner Mansoor AlHagbani, with support from Clifford Chance partners Omar Rashid (Riyadh and Dubai) and George Hacket (Frankfurt).
The core transaction team consisted of lead senior associates Rakan Kawar (Riyadh) and Rezwan Azam (Dubai) in addition to counsel Dr. Axel Wittmann (Frankfurt), supported by associates Fares AlMasri, Omar Al Harbi, Khaled Al-Bakr, Leen Kayali, Shahinaz AlAssaf, Abdullah Al Shebaiky and Dhary Alshathry (all based in Riyadh) and associates Massimiliano Valli, Ismaila Ngum and Shannon Burke (all based in Dubai) and associates Gordana Golubic-Huertas and Maks Mencin and transaction lawyer Valeria Umanet (all based in Frankfurt).
The firm has one of the largest, most experienced, and dedicated ECM practices in the region with an exceptionally strong track record of advising on some of the largest, most innovative and most complex deals in the Middle East. We have recently advised on the following notable equity capital markets transactions in the Kingdom: SAL Saudi Logistics Services Co. on its SAR 2.544 billion (approx. US$678.4 million) landmark IPO, ADES Holding on its landmark US$1.2 billion IPO, Americana Restaurants International on its first of a kind dual listing (Equity Deal of the Year – IFLR Middle East Awards 2023) and Power and Water Utility Company for Jubail and Yanbu (Marafiq) on its SAR 3.36 billion (approx. US$900 million) landmark IPO and SAR 11.5 billion (approx. US$3.1 billion) listing on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul).