Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), as was widely expected, has announced its plans to sell a 10 percent stake through an initial public offering (IPO).
In August this year, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), which own 70 percent of Empower, had hinted at the possibility of such a step.
DEWA hold 70 percent shares in Empower, the emirate’s district cooling provider, and Emirates Power Investment (EPI) will sell a billion shares and reserve the right to amend the size of the offering.
Subscription to the IPO will begin on October 31, according to an advertisement published by Empower in Khaleej Times. The first tranche, reserved for individual investors, ends on November 7 and the second tranche, which is allocated for professional investors, ends a day later.
Empower is expected to list on the Dubai Financial Market in November and DEWA and EPI will retain 90 percent of the company.
In the advertisement, Empower said it is “well positioned to capture growth opportunities in Dubai as a result of its strong market position, which is expected to rise to approximately 80 percent.”
It is the fourth IPO as part of Dubai’s plans announced last November by Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, deputy ruler of Dubai and UAE’s Minister of Finance.
Sheikh Maktoum had then stated the government’s aim to list 10 state-owned companies and increase the size of its financial market to approximately Dh3 trillion ($817 billion).
Dubai’s earlier IPOs are Salik, which raised AED3.73 billion from the sale of a 24.9 percent stake; DEWA, which raised AED22.41 billion and Tecom, which raised AED1.7 billion.
Established in 2003, Empower has become the world’s largest district cooling services provider, with 84 plant rooms and a network that is more than 350 kilometres long.
In August, the company reported a significant growth of 41.3 percent in the number of buildings using its environmentally friendly district cooling services, over the last five years. It also reported an increase in the number of buildings using its district cooling services, reaching 1,413 buildings by the end of 2021, representing a YoY growth of 13 percent compared to the same period of 2020.
Empower said it plans to build on its growth and acquisition track record and explore further inorganic growth opportunities, both domestically and regionally in the broader Middle East region.
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