Dubai’s Empower shareholders mull raising IPO stake to 20% – sources

Dubai’s Empower shareholders mull raising IPO stake to 20% – sources

DUBAI - Shareholders of Dubai's Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower) are considering increasing the size of the stake in the company being offered in an initial public offering to 20%, two sources said on Wednesday.

They increased it to 15% from 10% on Tuesday, citing strong demand.

The Gulf if experiencing an IPO boom as the governments of Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Dubai push state-led listing programmes, riding high on oil prices and a comparative dearth of such offerings in other markets.

No decision regarding the Dubai-owned cooling firm has yet been made, the sources familiar with the matter said. One said increasing the stake was likely but would depend on the market's reaction to an expected U.S. Federal Reserve rate hike later on Wednesday.

The second source said the deal has seen strong demand from inside the region and elsewhere.

Empower did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

If Empower sells 20%, it could raise up to 2.66 billion dirhams ($724.28 million) in the public share-sale, based on an indicative price range given on Monday. The final price will be set on Nov. 9.

The second source said the IPO would likely price at the top end of the 1.31 to 1.33