Bloomberg quoted sources as saying that the UAE Lulu International Group intends to offer its shares in an initial public offering in the UAE in early 2023.
This is not the first time the issue of the group’s IPO has been raised. “We don’t want to comment on market rumours,” said V Nandakumar, director of communications at Lulu Group.
According to the sources, the value of the company, which operates in the retail sector, exceeds 5 billion dollars (18 billion dirhams) and has already asked international banks to apply to manage a potential listing.
According to one of the sources, deliberations are still ongoing, and no final decisions have been taken regarding the market in which the shares will be offered or its details, and that it may be a double listing.
Lulu Group International, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, was founded by businessman Yusuf Ali, who established the first Lulu store in the early 1990s. The company also operates shopping malls and other commercial activities, including hospitality, freight and real estate. The company has annual revenues of about $8 billion, employs more than 57,000 people, and mainly operates in 22 countries across the Middle East, Asia, the United States and Europe.