ADQ’s Etihad Airways could float a 20% stake on the ADX as early as this month, Group CEO Antonoaldo Neves told The SundayTimes, according to Asharq Business. Etihad reportedly kicked off its IPO roadshow last week. The offering could see the company raise up to US 1 bn, implying an overall valuation of USD 5 bn.

Background: While the offering was initially planned for last year, Reuters reported inSeptember that the idea to present investors with 2024 financial results, along with geopolitical instability, weighed on the timing.

IPO + direct listing? While Neves mentioned that this is aimed at raising capital, sources told Bloomberg earlier that the airline is also considering a direct listing. “I can say that Etihad is ready. Any airline in the world that has the aspiration to grow and be influential — they need to tap into different sources of capital,” Nevedes said.

SOUND SMART- A direct listing allows all shareholders to execute transactions on their shares, ultimately providing more liquidity to shareholders.

A first in almost two decades: If Etihad manages to ring the bell this month, it would beat Saudi Arabia’s budget airline Flynas to become the region’s first airline listing since Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways’ IPO in 2008. Flynas is expected to receive final approval from the Capital Market Authority soon to take a 30% stake public, the company’s CEO Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal said last month.

ADVISORS- ADQ reportedly tapped Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Bank of America, BNP Paribas, and Morgan Stanley as joint bookrunners for the IPO, with HSBC Holdings, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Citigroup said to be acting as financial advisors.

The UAE has a strong pipeline of IPOs for 2025:

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