Nakheel in talks with bankers over IPO - report

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MULLING IPO: Nakheel is reportedly in talks with investment bankers over a possible IPO in 2009. (ITP Images)

Dubai master developer Nakheel is reportedly in talks with investment bankers about plans to float the company in 2009.

The company behind projects such as the Palm Jumeirah and the proposed Nakheel Tower, the tallest in the world, is said to be considering a stock market listing to raise as much as $15 billion, reported the UK's Sunday Telegraph.

Bankers at JP Morgan have been working on various ideas for the initial public offering (IPO), including a dual-listing for Nakheel on its home exchange, Nasdaq Dubai, and also in London, although the timing of the move has not yet been decided, the paper said on Sunday.

A spokesman for Nakheel, which is state-backed, told the paper: "Nakheel is always looking into capital-raising options and an initial private offering is one of them."

Companies worldwide raised about $86 billion in IPOs in 2008, down 66 per cent from 2007. IPOs in six Gulf Arab countries raised $11.7 billion in the first nine months of 2008, according to a report by private equity investor Gulf Capital in October.

Reports of a possible IPO were previously published in Dec. 2008 when newswire Bloomberg quoted unnamed bankers that the developer, the UAE's biggest developer by project value with nearly $80 billion worth of schemes in the pipeline, was looking for IPO managers.

Nakheel announced late last year that it was delaying several of its flagship projects, including the Trump International Hotel and Tower, in addition to axing 500 jobs amid the global financial crisis.

The developer said the Frond N villas, Gateway Towers and the Trump tower on the Palm Jumeirah, one of three palm-shaped islands the developer is building off Dubai's coast, would all be delayed.

The company said much of its Waterfront project, a series of man-made islands set to be twice the size of Hong Kong, would also be pushed back.

Nakheel said work would continue on Madinat Al Arab, Venetto, Badra and the Canal District, but areas of the project, including construction of six man-made islands, would be put on hold.

The Universe, a series of man-made islands in the shape of the sun, the moon and the planets that wraps around Nakheel's The World project, has been delayed, the company said, with work restricted to preliminary engineering studies.

On the Palm Jebel Ali, the second largest of the three Palm islands, Nakheel said work on the fond villas and infrastructure for the crescent would continue, while other phases would be delayed.

It did not give details of how long any of its projects would be delayed for.

Nakheel said work on all other projects - which include The World man-made archipelago and Palm Deira, the largest of the Palm islands - would continue as planned.

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READERS' COMMENTS

Mohammad
Posted by paul, dubai, UAE on Wednesday 7 January 2009 at 13:15 UAE time


What you describe sounds rather like 'factoring', which is used in many companies to aid cashflow. You basically sell goods to a customer and then payment is due to the factoring company. They pay you instantly, but less than the invoice amount. It is then their responsibility to collect the full amount from the customer, which they can keep. The profit is the difference between what they pay the supplier and the full invoice cost that the customer pays.

Generally a business would do this if they need cash in advance of when payment is due, or if they anticipate late payments or possibly defaults.

Nakheel - Notice and Acknowledgemnt of Assignment
Posted by Mohammad, Dubai, UAE on Sunday 4 January 2009 at 17:39 UAE time

Nakheel has "assigned rights in respect of a collection of purchase price installment payments" to "an affiliated company". This notice has been sent to property purchasers & no reason has been provided for this action or what exactly this assignment means (to a layman). Is this part of a capital raising exercise i.e. the receivables from property purchasers have been sold? If so, how does this affect the rights of property purchasers?

Nakheel IPO
Posted by james, Abu Dhabi, UAE on Sunday 4 January 2009 at 14:36 UAE time


Highly unlikely. The disclosure and regulatory issues that accompany a listing in London will kill this. Makes for a nice headline but don't take it seriously.

nakheel
Posted by ahmed on Sunday 4 January 2009 at 11:18 UAE time


interesting...

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