Dubai Taxi IPO kicks off book building today: State-owned Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC) starts its eight-day book building process today for both retail and institutional investors, according to the company’s IPO website. The book building process ends next Tuesday, 28 November for retail investors and Wednesday, 29 November for institutional investors. DTC expects to be listed on the DFM by 7 December.

About the offering: The DTC is offering 624.8 mn shares — a 25% stake — at a nominal rate of AED 0.04 per share, the company said in its intention to float (pdf). The indicative price range will be announced today, while the final share price will be announced following the book building process.

Lots of potential investors already? Prospective investors in the IPO have been submitting their loan requests to local banks — ranging between AED 50k to AED 10 mn — Gulf News reported yesterday, citing industry sources. Given the high demand for the IPO, bankers have been advising prospective investors to up their subscription amounts if they hope to secure a more significant allocation of DTC shares. “Based on what we are seeing, this will sell out in minutes. I cannot comment on institutional investor demand, but even the high networth investor demand is off the charts,” Gulf News writes, citing an anonymous banker.

ADVISORS– Citibank, Emirates NBD, and Merrill Lynch are joint global coordinators for the transaction. Joining them on joint bookrunner duties are EFG Hermes UAE and FAB. Emirates NBD is lead receiving bank, while our friends at Mashreq Bank are also serving as a receiving bank alongside FAB and others. Rothschild is also serving as an independent financial advisor.

ALSO FROM DUBAI TAXI- Mansoor Rahma Alfalasi (LinkedIn) has been appointed as CEO of Dubai Taxi, following the company’s first board meeting, according to a Dubai Media Office press release. Alfalasi has experience in managing mobility sector businesses, having served as the CEO of Dubai Taxi Corporation (not the same thing) since 2020. He also occupied several executive management roles at the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) between 2014 and 2020.

ICYMI: DTC, Dubai’s largest taxi operator, is set to go public next month on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), according to the company’s prospectus. The move follows the decision by Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to change the legal status of DTC and establish it as a public joint stock company earlier this month.

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