Saudi Arabian wealth fund and Dubai-based businessman Mohammad Alabbar is seeking to raise as much as $1.8 billion from a dual listing of the Middle East operator of KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants.

The Public Investment Fund and Alabbar will sell 2.53 billion shares in Americana Restaurants International Plc in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi for between 2.55 riyals ($0.68) and 2.68 riyals each, according to a statement on Monday. It would be the largest Saudi IPO this year, valuing Americana at as much as $6 billion.

The company will be the first to have its shares traded in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, where the Tadawul stock exchange has encouraged dual listings for years. The deal is closely watched because it would set a precedent for other regional companies to list on the two exchanges.

Americana is part of a boom in IPOs in the Middle East, which has emerged as a bright spot in an otherwise grim global listing market, with earnings slumping from last year amid high inflation and hawkish central banks. The region accounted for nearly half of EMEA IPOs this year.

Soaring oil prices in 2021 and earlier this year, coupled with investors turning to the region following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, helped underpin the IPOs. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are also looking to sell stakes in state assets to fund the diversification of their oil-dependent economies.

Americana’s offer period will run from November 14 to November 21 for retail investors in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and November 22 for institutional investors. The final offer is expected to be announced on November 23, with trading on both exchanges set to begin on December 6.

According to its website, Americana operates restaurants for brands like Baskin Robbins, Costa Coffee and TGI Fridays, as well as KFC and Pizza Hut. Kuwait Foods previously operated it under the broader Americana umbrella, which includes restaurants and food businesses. The IPO is only for the restaurant business.

Alabbar’s Adeptio AD Investments acquired the company in 2016. At the end of the year, the Saudi wealth fund acquired a 50% stake in Adeptio, and Americana was subsequently delisted from the Kuwait Stock Exchange.
First, Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, Goldman Sachs plc, Morgan Stanley and SNB Capital are joint global coordinators for the IPO, while HSBC Holdings plc and EFG Hermes are joint bookrunners.