YahSat confirms IPO
June 22, 2021
By Chris Forrester
Al Yah Satellite Communications (which trades as YahSat) and is fully owned by Abu Dhabi’s $243 billion sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment, has hired Abu Dhabi’s Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank and HSBC Holdings as joint lead managers, according to an advertisement in local newspaper the National.
YahSat currently has services covering some 150 countries including DTH and broadband communications.
The IPO is planning to offer a minimum 731.9 million shares and a maximum 975.9 million shares, representing minimum 30 percent stake and maximum of 40 percent stake in the company. The offer expected to close July 6th for first and third tranche and July 8th for second tranche buyers.
The final offer price and size is expected on July 9th, with trading expected on its date of listing in Abu Dhabi (ADX) of July 14th. The public offer is limited to the UAE only.
The move is expected to be popular in that it is Abu Dhabi’s first IPO since 2017.
The Group has a high-quality satellite fleet that provides services using a wide selection of spectral bands (Ka-band, Ku-band, C-band and L-band). Its first two satellites, Al Yah 1 and Al Yah 2, were launched in April 2011 and April 2012, respectively. The Group’s third satellite, Al Yah 3, was launched in January 2018. The Group also added two satellites, Thuraya-2 and Thuraya-3, to its fleet through the acquisition of Thuraya in 2018, with these satellites launched in June 2003 and January 2008, respectively.
The Group has a 65 per cent stake in Al Maisan Satellite Communication Co. LLC (Al Maisan), the equity partnership with a member of the SES Group operating under the brand ‘YahLive’. SES Finance controls the business, which provides capacity to DTH television broadcasters using Ku-band capacity on the Al Yah 1 satellite, principally in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and Southwest Asia.