Abu Dhabi-based retail giant Lulu Retail, backed by non-resident Indian businessman MA Yusuffali, on Monday launched its $1.43 billion (Rs 12,000 crore) initial public offering in the Gulf region.
The sales series confirmed the range of the IPO at 1.94-2.04 dirhams per share, with the final price to be confirmed on November 5. The range of the IPO price means the size of the issue of 5.01-5.27 billion dirhams ($ 1.36-1.43 billion). Its shares will be listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.
Once the IPO is completed, Yusuffali’s family – originally from Kerala – will retain an active 60 percent stake in Lulu Retail Holdings. Yusuffali had previously sold a 20 percent stake in Lulu International Holdings Ltd to Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ) in 2021.
Retail investors are guaranteed a minimum amount of 1,000 shares, for a minimum investment of 5,000 dirhams and multiples of 1,000 dirhams thereafter. The Gulf region comprising Abu Dhabi, UAE and Kuwait has a large NRI population.
The company said a total of 2.582 billion shares, each with a par value of $0.014 (equivalent to AED 0.051), representing 25 percent of the company’s total issued shares, will be sold by the company’s sole shareholder, Lulu International. Holdings Ltd, in which Yusuffali’s family owns 80 percent.
Lulu Retail earned $3.9 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2024, up 5.6 percent year over year, and full-year revenue in 2023 rose 5.6 percent to $7.3 billion.
In India, the Lulu group has major stores in Kochi, Bangalore, Lucknow, Coimbatore, Trivandrum, Palakkad, Hyderabad and Calicut.
Yusuffali, who is the group’s founding shareholder, and the majority beneficial owner of Y International Holdings Limited owns 80% of the selling shares, the offering document said.
The Lulu Group operates stores in the UAE, KSA, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. It was the second largest grocer in the UAE and the largest grocer in Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait and the fastest growing and largest pan-GCC grocer in KSA, in each case based on 2023 net sales.
As of August 2024, the group operated a network of 240 stores, including 116 Hypermarkets, 102 Express stores and 22 mini markets, with 103 stores located in the UAE, 56 stores located in -KSA and 81 stores in other markets.