Jamjoom Pharmaceuticals Factory Co. rose by the maximum allowed in its trading debut after the generic drugmaker pulled off the largest initial public offering in Saudi Arabia this year.
(Bloomberg) — Jamjoom Pharmaceuticals Factory Co. rose by the maximum allowed in its trading debut after the generic drugmaker pulled off the largest initial public offering in Saudi Arabia this year.
The stock gained as much as 30% by 10:10 a.m. in Riyadh.
In May, the company’s owners raised 1.26 billion riyals ($336 million) after the shares were priced at the top end of the range at 60 riyals each. The listing, the largest in the kingdom since Saudi Aramco Base Oil Co. raised $1.3 billion in December, has served as a gauge of investor appetite as Saudi Arabia’s IPO market slowly comes back to life.
Saudi companies were cautious in the first half of the year as concerns about higher interest rates and a potential global economic slowdown weighed on sentiment. That’s a stark contrast to 2022, when firms in the kingdom raised the most through IPOs since 2019, when Saudi Aramco had the world’s largest ever listing.
Jamjoom Pharma secured two so-called cornerstone investors for its IPO, which is rare in Saudi Arabia. Together, Saudi Economic and Development Holding Co. and Al Faisaliah Group subscribed for almost a quarter of the offering. These type of investors can help shore up support for a deal in a volatile market and remove some of the risk because there are fewer shares to sell in the open market.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Saudi Fransi Capital were the financial advisers, bookrunners and underwriters for Jamjoom Pharma, while Al Rajhi Capital was an underwriter.
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