Contractor Mutlaq Al Ghowairi is coming to Tadawul

MutlaqAl Ghowairi heads to market with a sizable backlog: Infrastructure firm Mutlaq Al Ghowairi Contracting Company (MGC) plans to list 30% of its share capital on Tadawul, putting 240 mn shares up for grabs, representing 30% of the firm’s share capital, according to a press release (pdf) and prospectus (pdf). The firm has been looking to list before its CMA approvals expire in June.

The details: The offering will be split into two tranches targeting institutional and retail investors. Institutional investors will initially get first dibs on all 240 mn shares. However, financial advisors can scale that back to 168 mn shares (70% of the offering) if retail demand is sufficient. The minimum ticket size here is 25k shares, capped at 40 mn. Retail investors could get up to 72 mn shares, equivalent to 30% of the IPO.

This is a secondary sale, meaning MGC itself won’t receive any proceeds from the IPO. Instead, the net proceeds — after slicing off SAR 150 mn in IPO expenses — will go straight to the selling shareholders on a pro rata basis. The major shareholders will be subject to a six-month lock-up period.

The equity sell-down is driven entirely by the firm’s two largest backers. Majority owner Mutlaq Al Otaibi is trimming his dominant stake to 32% from 52.5%, while Terad Al Ghowairi is paring his position to 15.7% from 22.5%.

The timeline:

• Institutional book-building: 31 May-4 June;
• Retail subscription: 15-17 June;
• Final allocation: 22 June;
• Refunds (if any): by 23 June;
• Listing on Tadawul: shortly after, pending the usual regulatory box-ticking.

MGC in a nutshell: The Riyadh-based company started in 1977 as Mutlaq Al Ghowairi Contracting Establishment, founded by Mutlaq Al Otaibi with an initial capital of SAR 200k. It focuses on EPC infrastructure work, including utilities, roads, railways, water networks, and pipelines. Ahead of its planned listing, the company expanded its capital base to SAR 800 mn in 2024 from SAR 1 mn in 2023, largely through retained earnings. It says it delivered more than 80 projects over the past five years and now employs over 4.7k people.

Earnings point to strong revenues mixed with margin compression: MGC pulled in SAR 202 mn in net income on revenues of SAR 967 mn in 1Q 2026, yielding a net margin of 21%. Looking back, annual revenues have been quite healthy, bouncing back from a mild dip in 2024 (SAR 3.2 bn) to peak at SAR 3.6 bn in 2025. The bottom line, however, has felt the pinch of rising costs. Net income has steadily shrunk over the last few years, dropping from SAR 1.5 bn in 2023 to SAR 1.2 bn in 2024, and sliding down to SAR 819 mn in 2025.

Backed by a solid pipeline: The company had a SAR 10.6 bn backlog at end-March, equal to a 2.7x backlog-to-revenue ratio. The business is heavily tied to water infrastructure, which made up 84.2% of 2024 revenue. A large chunk of its backlog — about 68% — is linked to the water transmission segment.

Going forward: “From 2026 and onwards, our strategy is to consolidate our core market strength in our home market and deepen our activity where we have proven expertise across water, transportation, and urban development. We are actively expanding into new sectors such as power and energy,” said CEO Omar Al-Dalbahi.

The listing will test the market’s appetite for infrastructure plays: While the Kingdom boasts a sizable gigaproject and utilities pipeline, the contractor sector has historically been lightly represented on Tadawul, with many industry players facing tight margins and project reprioritization. This listing serves as a bellwether for whether investors believe the sector can rebound amid Saudi Arabia’s project reshuffling and geopolitical headwinds.

Getting the ball rolling on Tadawul: Several local firms are gearing up for listing in the upcoming period, with Ninja preparing for a potential IPO that could raise USD 1 bn by late 2026 or early 2027. Dar Al Balad for Business Solutions is also targeting USD 55 mn in its IPO, while Arabian Dyar is eyeing a listing before CMA approvals expire in June.

ADVISORS- Al Rajhi Capital and Morgan Stanley Saudi Arabia are acting as joint financial advisors, global coordinators, bookrunners, and underwriters. ANB Capital and Emirates NBD are also serving as joint bookrunners and underwriters, while Albilad Capital and Arqaam Capital are additional joint bookrunners. Al Rajhi Capital is also acting as lead manager, and Moelis & Company Saudi Limited is the independent advisor.