Americana, Luberef IPO managers set to share $74m in fees

Americana, Luberef IPO managers set to share $74m in fees

Banks including Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley and First Abu Dhabi Bank are set to share about a combined $74.3m in fees for working on the IPOs of Americana Restaurants International and Saudi Aramco Base Oil Co. Americana, the Middle Eastern operator of KFC and Pizza Hut outlets, is paying SAR194.4m ($51.7m) in overall fees for its dual-listing in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. That’s about 2.9 per cent in offering expenses for the $1.8bn IPO. Saudi Aramco Base Oil, a refining unit of the state-owned oil producer and also known as Luberef, is paying SAR85m, or about 1.7 per cent in fees for its $1.32bn offering. That compares with a $97m payout banks including Citigroup, HSBC and Emirates NBD were offered for underwriting the $6.1bn IPO of Dubai Electricity & Water Authority in April. Underwriting fees in the Middle East tend to be lower than in other markets such as the US, where banks can earn around 5 per cent of deal value for an IPO. Americana and Luberef IPOs take the proceeds of Gulf listings this year to over $20bn, an amount that would be an annual record if it weren’t for 2019 when Aramco raised almost $30bn. The