UAE: Adnoc announces 3.1B share offering in Adnoc Gas to boost liquidity
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Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), the majority shareholder of Adnoc Gas plc, has announced its decision to offer approximately 3.1 billion shares through a Marketed Offering. This move represents 4% of the issued and outstanding share capital of Adnoc Gas.
According to the Offering, 3,070,056,880 shares are being made available, representing 4% of the issued and outstanding share capital of Adnoc Gas. The Offering will commence immediately and is expected to close on Friday, February 21, subject to acceleration of closing at Adnoc’s sole discretion.
The Offering aims to enhance trading liquidity and diversify the company’s shareholder base, aligning with Adnoc's broader strategy. The sale of these shares follows Adnoc Gas' strong financial performance since its IPO in March 2023.
"Since its IPO in March 2023, Adnoc Gas has consistently delivered strong growth, robust financial performance and superior shareholder returns. As a world-class integrated gas processing company, Adnoc Gas is ideally positioned for further expansion as the company will continue to supply a majority of the domestic market, while pursuing an ambitious growth strategy," said Khaled Al Zaabi, Group Chief Financial Officer at Adnoc.
Adnoc has reaffirmed its commitment as a long-term majority shareholder, emphasizing that the Offering is intended to increase liquidity and free float while attracting a more diversified investor base.
"As a committed, long-term majority shareholder, this Offering aligns with Adnoc's strategic objectives to enhance the liquidity and free float of Adnoc Gas, while providing a pathway to a more diversified shareholder base and indexation through this secondary placement,” he added."
The Offering is accessible only to qualified institutional investors in select countries, including the UAE, and will not be available to retail investors.
The Offering will be open to qualified institutional and other investors in a number of countries, including the UAE. The Offering is open only to Professional Investors as defined by the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) and will not be available to the public in the UAE or any other jurisdiction.
By increasing the free float of its shares, Adnoc Gas aims for potential inclusion in global indices, which could further elevate the company’s international investment profile.
The Offering is being conducted to enhance trading and liquidity in Adnoc Gas’ ordinary shares and diversify its shareholder base. A higher free float is also expected to provide a pathway towards inclusion in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Emerging Market Index and the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) Emerging Market Index, which may take place at the next quarterly review subject to Adnoc Gas meeting all the relevant inclusion criteria. Index inclusion of Adnoc Gas would further contribute to the diversification of the Company’s investor base and significantly broaden awareness of its value proposition within the international investment community.
