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Al Habtoor weighs IPO of Habtoor Hospitality: Al Habtoor Group is mulling the possibility of taking hotel management arm Habtoor Hospitality public, b’naire Khalaf Al Habtoor said in a post on X.
Details are still scant: There’s no information about the stake size, listing venue or timeline of the potential offering, though we suspect the listing would take place on the DFM, given that it’s the typical venue for IPOs of real estate and hospitality companies with strong operations in Dubai.
But it’s not the first time the b'naire mentions an IPO: The group initially revealed plans to IPO in 2012, but later postponed it, citing a lack of investment prospects into which it can effectively funnel proceeds. The company’s IPO plans resurfaced in 2016 and 2021, with the aim of floating a 30-35% stake in 3Q 2022, before they were put on ice again. The company was debating whether to list the entire group or list each of its units separately at the time.
REMEMBER- It’s been a good year for tourism in the UAE. The World Travel & Tourism Council reports that the UAE received 29.2 mn international tourists in 2024 — a 15.5% increase from 2023, state news agency Wam reports. This figure is expected to grow to 45.5 mn in 2033, according to the report. This suggests that the industry has strong growth potential that can easily attract investors to this potential IPO.
Al Habtoor Hospitality’s offerings in Dubai include Hilton Dubai Al Habtoor City, Waldorf Astoria Palm Jumeirah, Metropolitan Hotel, and V Hotel by Hilton among others. The operator’s international offerings include Al Habtoor Palace and InterContinental in Budapest, Hilton London Wembley, Hotel Imperial in Vienna, and President Abraham Lincoln Springfield — a DoubleTree by Hilton, among others.
Shares of major real estate players have outperformed in the past 12 months: Competitor Emaar Properties was amongst the first companies to list on DFM, with its share price closing at AED 13.50 apiece on Friday’s close, up from AED 7.4 apiece on 31 January 2024. The company listed a 55% stake in 2000. Meanwhile, ADX-listed Aldar Properties’ share price closed at AED 7.65 apiece on Friday’s close, up from AED 5.1 apiece on 31 January 2024.
