Shares of Americana Restaurants International, the franchisee of fast-food restaurants KFC and Pizza Hut across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, climbed after raising $1.8 billion in the first-ever dual listing in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.
Americana gained in its debut 13% in Abu Dhabi to reach a high of $0.80 (AED 2.95) and rose 6.7% in Riyadh to $0.76 (SAR 2.86) on Monday.
Saudi's Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Chairman of Americana Mohamed Alabbar sold 2.5 billion shares in the company for $0.71 (AED 2.62 or SAR 2.68) each.
First Abu Dhabi Bank, Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley, and SNB Capital were joint global coordinators for Americana’s IPO, while HSBC Holdings and EFG Hermes were joint book-runners.
Americana’s listing is believed to be the biggest in Saudi Arabia in 2022 and the third-biggest in the UAE, Bloomberg reported.
Adeptio Investments, an investment vehicle jointly held by PIF and Alabbar bought Americana in 2016. The Saudi wealth fund acquired a 50% stake in Adeptio at the end of that year and Americana subsequently got delisted from the Kuwait bourse.
Americana operates restaurants for brands including Baskin Robbins, Costa Coffee, and TGI Fridays, as well as KFC and Pizza Hut, according to its website.
The concurrent dual listing of Americana Restaurants on ADX and the Saudi Exchange marks a first-of-its-kind transaction," Alabbar said in a statement.
