A less chaotic second EGX debut for Taqa: Taqa Arabia had a decidedly less chaotic second debut on the EGX yesterday, with the company’s shares avoiding the dramaticfluctuations seen on Sunday and only a few transactions reportedly being canceled by the exchange.

The company’s shares closed at EGP 20.00 — some 125% higher than the EGP 8.90 apiece price at which shares were valued ahead of the listing. Trading was moderate, with 801.3k of the company’s shares changing hands via 843 transactions for a combined EGP 15.7 mn, according to EGX data. Traders will now be watching to see how far shares fluctuate from the EGP 20.00 price on which the market landed during yesterday’s trading.

Circuit breakers come back into play today: The EGX usually only allows shares to rise or fall by 20% in a session before circuit breakers kick in and suspend trading. But in a decision announced last week and again yesterday, the bourse suspended the rules for the first and second days of dealing in Taqa shares to allow shares to rise to a realistic value from their nominal value of EGP 0.50. Shares rose 3,900% during the day’s trading from that starting value to hit the EGP 20.00 closing price.

The first debut:Taqa shares soared 83,000% on Sunday’s trading, which the EGX attributed to 75 transactions worth just EGP 395k that it said were executed by mistake. A number of local and regional outlets quoted traders saying that several trades were executed at between EGP 380 and EGP 500, which was confirmed later by EGX boss Ramy El Dokany on Amr Adib’s show, triggering the surge in the company’s share price.

REMEMBER- Taqa went public via a direct offering, rather than going the conventional IPO route.It listed its 1.35 bn shares on the exchange under the ticker TAQA and did not offer shares to the public. The technical listing simply allows existing shareholders to start buying and selling shares on the open market and should bring in new shareholders over time.

All transactions were canceled on Sunday, but one: A block transaction was executed on Monday involving the sale of EGP 3.7 bn worth of shares by the company’s largest shareholder Silverstone Capital Investments — an entity controlled by Taqa parent Qalaa Holdings — to existing shareholders including Financial Holdings Investments and Rimco EGT Investments, according to three separate disclosures to the EGX (here, here and here — pdfs).

Silverstone offloads 60% of its shares in Taqa Arabia: Silverstone’s ownership decreased to 49%, down from 80%, after selling 192.4 mn shares to Financial Holdings Investments whose ownership increased to 17.8%, up from 3.6%. Silverstone also sold 194 mn shares to Rimco whose ownership rose to 14.5%, up from 0.2%. Both transactions were executed at EGP 8.90 per-share.

Advisors: EFG Hermes quarterbacked the transaction, while Zulficar & Partners provided counsel. Baker Tilly was the independent financial advisor and PwC was the auditor.

Tags: