Omifco draws in Oman’s biggest-ever IPO order book + UAE debt ledger continues to swell

Money is moving in both directions across MENA+: It’s pouring in through a record-breaking Omani order book and a UAE debt window that is turning into a stampede, and heading back out into Syrian reconstruction, a London-Denver asset manager, and a Silicon Valley AI lab.

Oman just drew the biggest order book in its market’s history as Oman India Fertilizer Company (Omifco) priced its IPO at the top of the range, OMR 0.156 (USD 0.41) per share, raising USD 678 mn, according to its final pricing announcement (pdf). Omifco is taking 25% of the company (1.672 bn shares) public, with the IPO pricing giving it a valuation of up to OMR 1.04 bn (USD 2.7 bn). The offering was 18x oversubscribed, pulling in OMR 4.69 bn (USD 12.2 bn) in aggregate bids across its institutional and retail tranche — the most any Oman IPO has ever drawn. Shares start trading on the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) next Wednesday, 8 July.

This is Oman’s first listing of the year and its biggest in years — and proof MSX can pull serious regional and international money even from a market that rarely sees deals this size. It plugs straight into the Gulf-wide privatization-and-listing wave that Tadawul, ADX, and DFM have all been riding.

Our friends at Mashreq and Ras Al Khaimah’s Rakbank added their names to the UAE's swelling debt ledger this week, as the rush that began after the Iran-war-era freeze rolls on ahead of an expected summer lull:

Mashreq priced a USD 500 mn perpetual non-call 5.5-year AT1 at a 6.625% coupon, tightening from initial guidance in the 6.875% area, with the final order book topping USD 1 bn, Zawya reports. ADCB, BBVA, Barclays, Bank of America, Crédit Agricole, Emirates NBD Capital, FAB, Mashreq, and Standard Chartered ran the books, with BofA as billing and delivery bank

Rakbank raised USD 600 mn through a five-year senior unsecured note at a 5.375% coupon — priced at UST+125bps, well inside the UST+155bps area where books opened — with demand above USD 1.2 bn, Zawya reports separately. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Arab Banking Corporation, Citi, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), ICBC, ING, JPMorgan, Mashreq, Standard Chartered, and Rakbank were joint bookrunners

GCC investment platform BlueFive Capital and Saudi Arabia’s Al Murjan Group have closed the cross-border ownership swap that formalizes their shariah-compliant partnership — and are rebranding the combined entity BlueFiveSidra, per a press release (pdf). The tie-up saw BlueFive take a substantial stake in Sidra Capital, Al Murjan's Jeddah-based Islamic asset manager specializing in private assets, while Al Murjan took a substantial stake in BlueFive786, BlueFive's Singapore-based shariah-compliant arm.

The combined platform will target shariah-compliant products — including retirement and savings schemes — across the GCC and Southeast Asia, with a focus on Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Brunei, and Singapore.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank is teaming up with JPMorgan and Qatar National Bank on roughly USD 7 bn in debt financing for Syrian reconstruction, Bloomberg reports. This marks one of the largest foreign financing commitments to the country since Bashar Al Assad’s ouster, and a sign UAE banks will take on Syria risk well ahead of most Western lenders. ADCB is working with QNB and JPMorgan on the five-year facility, which backs projects run by a consortium that includes Qatari conglomerate Power International Holding.

How it’s structured: The facility will be fully drawn from the outset, guaranteed by QNB, and priced at roughly 370 bps over SOFR — a 250 bps margin plus 120 bps in fees. Proceeds go toward rebuilding power infrastructure and an airport. Power International, controlled by the Syrian-born Al-Khayyat family, has become one of the most active foreign investors in the reconstruction through its UCC Holding construction arm.

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BlueFive Capital is pushing into infrastructure, agreeing to buy a 70% stake in Dubai-based dredging and land-reclamation contractor Gulf Cobla — one of the UAE’s oldest — per a press release. The stake combines Swiss-based Advanced Dynamics Investments’ entire 49% holding and a 21% slice from Dutco Group, which keeps the remaining 30% and stays on as a shareholder — BlueFive’s latest across a deal run now spanning private equity, Islamic finance, AI, vehicle leasing, and autonomous delivery.

Abu Dhabi building materials company Bildco is buying into food trading — repositioning itself as a diversified holding group, according to a press release (pdf). It has agreed to take a 50% stake in Dubai-based AG Group, which trades fresh produce, runs juice production, and manages logistics for clients including Emirates Flight Catering, Americana, Majid Al Futtaim, and ADNH Compass.

Qatar Investment Authority completed its take-private of Janus Henderson on Wednesday, alongside Trian Fund Management and General Catalyst, with CEO Ali Dibadj staying in place. QIA cast itself as a "long-term financial investor" in the London/Denver asset manager's next phase — a marker of its continued push into owning Western financial-services firms outright rather than holding passive stakes. Gulf Times | Zawya

Aramco’s venture arm led a USD 800 mn Series C in Together AI — a platform for training and running AI on open-source models — at a USD 8.3 bn post-money valuation, alongside Nvidia, Salesforce Ventures, and General Catalyst. Read it as Saudi corporate capital, not just PIF, writing large direct checks into frontier AI infrastructure.

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