Abu Dhabi, April 18, 2005: The National Investor (TNI), a leading UAE investment and advisory firm, announced that the public subscription for shares in Aabar Petroleum Investments Company PJSC (Aabar), which was scheduled to close on Thursday 21 April, has been extended to Saturday 23 April 2005. The original closing date for subscriptions coincides with the Prophet’s (PBUH) Birthday.
Aabar’s shares will be listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market in the UAE. The Initial Public Offering (IPO) is open to all UAE nationals over 21 years of age and to UAE companies. Subscribers can receive application details and prospectuses which are available free of charge from five local banks in the UAE; First Gulf Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, InvestBank and Finance House.
Since the subscription opened on April 9, the response has been extremely positive. “We have received many applications for shares and we want to inform investors that we have had to push the deadline by one day as the previous scheduled date falls on the Prophet’s birthday. Following the closure of the subscription period, we will begin the allocation process and investors will be informed if their application has been successful and of the number of shares they were allocated,” commented Mr. Khaled Fouad, Vice President, Investment Banking, The National Investor, the leading IPO manager in the UAE with a remarkable track record in leading the largest number of IPO’s in the country, both in terms of quantity and volume. With AED 495 million shares to be allocated, the Aabar IPO will feature a two-tranche allocation structure. Tranche A, comprising 170 million shares, which will be allocated equally among all individual subscribers. Tranche B will consist of 325 million shares and will be allocated among UAE individuals and companies incorporated in the UAE and wholly owned by UAE nationals. Tranche B will be allocated on a pro-rata basis. The minimum subscription amount is 25,000 shares for individuals and 250,000 for companies. The shares are open at a nominal value of AED 1, with an additional 2 fils as subscription fees per share.
In order to accept subscriptions in a timely manner at the branch level, all IPO designated branches will be accepting only one application per subscriber. Those branches will strictly only accept subscription forms during normal banking hours for the duration of the subscription period. The receiving banks will accept payment for the total subscription amount plus the subscription fees in the form of either a manager’s cheque or a bank remittance.
For more information related to the IPO, please contact the TNI IPO hotline on 800-TNI-IPO (800-864-476) or visit www.tni-ipo.ae.
About the National Investor: The National Investor (TNI) is a leading UAE investment and advisory firm with a distinguished track record in fundraising, advisory services, asset management, and private equity investments. The Company is backed by over 65 UAE shareholders who come from the highest echelons of the business and political community. TNI is actively involved in investment banking, private equity, and asset management and is currently ranked as the leading arranger of public share offerings, having lead managed the largest number of public offerings in the UAE to date.