Saudi’s First Milling sets price range for IPO       

Saudi Arabia’s First Milling Company has set the price range for its initial public offering at SAR55 to SAR60 ($14.67 to $16.00) per share, giving a market capitalisation between SAR3.05 billion and SAR3.3 billion at the time of listing.

The IPO subscription, which started on May 18, will end on June 7, with the listing date to be determined later on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul).

The final offer price will be determined at the end of a book-building period on May 31.

First Milling, the first mill privatised in Saudi Arabia, will offload 16.65 million shares, resulting in a free float of 30 percent of the flour milling company’s share capital.

First Milling has a daily wheat milling capacity of 4,200 tonnes and a feed mixing capacity of 900 tonnes. It operates four large-capacity production facilities in Makkah, Al Qassim, Tabuk and the Eastern Region.

First Mills was the first of several flour milling privatisations in Saudi Arabia, sold to AlRaha AlSafi Food Company-consortium for $540 million in 2020.

The consortium was led by Saudi Arabian firm Almutlaq Group, including AlSafi Holding Company, Abunayyan Holding and UAE’s Essa Al-Ghurair Investment.

In 2022, companies based in the Middle East raised $21.9 billion through IPOs, more than half the total for the wider Emea region, including Europe and Africa, Dealogic data shows.