ACWA Power, a leading developer, investor, and operator of power generation and desalinated water plants worldwide, rang the market opening bell at the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) at 10:00 a.m. AST Monday. After a highly successful offering in which the institutional tranche was covered around 248 times, and the retail investor tranche saw a coverage of 1989.96%, the company's shares are now traded on the Main Market of the exchange under the ticker symbol ACWA POWER. The bell ringing ceremony was attended by Eng. Khalid Abdullah Al-Hussan, chairman of the Saudi Tadawul Group and.Mohammed Al-Rumaih, CEO of Saudi Tadawul Group, as well as Mohammed Abunayyan, chairman of ACWA Power, and Paddy Padmanathan, CEO of ACWA Power, alongside other leading board members and executives. Abunayyan, chairman of ACWA Power, commented: "Today marks a historic moment for ACWA Power and all its employees — a proud moment that would not have been possible without Saudi Arabia's robust economic landscape and the confidence of the local and international investors in our beloved Kingdom. "On this special day for ACWA Power and our nation, my deepest gratitude and appreciation goes to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and the Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman for driving Saudi Arabia's ambitious vision for the future. "We also owe thanks to the CMA, the Saudi Stock Exchange Tadawul and all partners, institutions and our people who have greatly contributed to the success of our offering. It is a distinct pleasure to welcome new shareholders to the ACWA Power family as we continue to pave the way to a cleaner, greener future, supported by their trust and confidence in the bright future that lies ahead for us." He added: "Over our 17-year history, ACWA Power has grown into a leading player in the power, water, and hydrogen driving the transition across the world by supplying power and water reliably, responsibly, and at low cost. "Our purpose has always been to support the sustainable social development and economic growth of nations and the wellbeing and happiness of communities across the world according to robust foundations of societal, environmental, and governmental Legal advisors, Abdulaziz Alajlan & Partners alongside Baker McKenzie, London, have advised the syndicate of 11 underwriting banks on ACWA Power's $1.2 billion initial public offering and listing on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul), with an implied market capitalization on listing of approximately $11 billion. The syndicate included Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, Natixis and Riyad Capital as joint coordinators, financial advisors, bookrunners and underwriters. The syndicate further comprised EFG Hermes, Emirates NBD and FAB Capital as joint bookrunners and underwriters, as well as Albilad Capital, Alistithmar Capital, Aljazira Capital and SNB Capital as underwriters. ACWA Power formally announced the IPO on Sept. 2, 2021 and trading in its shares commenced Monday. Founded in 2004, ACWA Power is a leading private developer, owner and operator of long-term contracted power generation and desalinated water projects worldwide. ACWA Power today has 64 projects in operation, construction or advanced development in 13 countries across three continents, with a total project cost of SR248 billion ($66 billion). The IPO was marketed to institutional investors both domestically and internationally pursuant to "Regulation S" and comprised the issue of 81.2 million new shares, representing approximately 11% of ACWA Power's existing share capital. The final offer price per share was set at $14.9 (SR56), which was at the top end of the price range, having attracted high demand from Saudi and international institutions as well as the investing public in the Kingdom. With an intention to use the net proceeds from the offering to further support upcoming projects, the total proceeds raised by ACWA Power were US$ 1.2 billion, making it the largest IPO in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since Saudi Aramco's IPO in 2019. Commenting on the deal, Karim Nassar said "We are very pleased to have had the opportunity to act for the syndicate of underwriting banks on this pre-eminent IPO transaction, which highlights the depth and breadth of our capacity and capability involving our equity capital markets teams across two of our EMEA offices. "This IPO will provide ACWA Power with the needed funding to support its growth strategy. It is a manifestation of the continuing strong demand for IPOs from domestic and international investors in the Kingdom." George Marshall added, "It was a great honor for Baker McKenzie to be entrusted with such a significant transaction. Advising on this deal enabled us to draw on our deep knowledge and experience in assisting not only investment banks but major industry players in such prominent fund-raising deals. Building on our recent experience of advising on international deals from the Kingdom, we are very pleased to see that the deal has come to fruition through a successful Tadawul listing and international offering." — SG
