Muscat – OQ Gas Networks (OQGN), the sole operator of Oman’s gas transportation system, on Monday announced the price range and details of the subscription period for its initial public offering (IPO).

The offer is expected to raise up to RO297mn (equivalent to $771mn) at the top of the price range, valuing OQGN at up to RO606mn (equivalent to $1.574bn), according to a press statement released by OQGN.

OQGN’s Selling Shareholders intend to offer up to 49% of the company’s total share capital through the IPO. Immediately following the offering, a minimum of 51% shareholding will continue to be held by OQ.

The offering will be conducted in the manner as approved by the CMA and will be offered in a parallel offering under two categories.

The shares of OQGN are expected to list on the Muscat Stock Exchange on or around October 24, 2023.

Category I offer

For the Category I investors, the offer will be open for the subscription on September 26, 2023 and close on October 9, 2023. Subscription price for the Category I offer will be between 131bz and 140bz per share with the final price to be set through a book-building exercise.

848,802,288 offer shares have been allocated for Category I applicants, as follows: (a) 20% of the offer shares (equivalent to 50% of the Category I offer shares i.e., 424,401,144 offer shares) shall be reserved for subscription by local applicants. The allocation of offer shares to local applicants shall be made on a proportionate basis. Applicants for offer shares in the Category I offer can apply for a minimum of 100,000 offer shares and in multiples of 100 thereafter. (b) 20% of the offer shares (equivalent to 50% of the Category I offer shares i.e., 424,401,144 offer shares) shall be available for subscription by non-local applicants. Allocation of offer shares to non-local applicants shall be determined by the Selling Shareholders in consultation with the Joint Global Coordinators.

Category II offer

For Category II, the offer will open for subscription on September 26, 2023 and close on October 5, 2023. Subscription price for the Category II offer will be set at a maximum discounted price of 126bz per share, calculated as the maximum price of 140bz per share less a discount of 10%.

636,601,716 offer shares have been allocated for Category II, being 30% of the offer. Allocation to Category II applicants will be made on a proportionate basis. If the aggregate demand in Category II is greater than 30% of the offer shares, the CMA may decide that a minimum number of Category II offer shares be distributed equally among Category II applicants, and the remaining Category II offer shares shall be allocated on a pro-rata basis.

Applicants for offer shares in the Category II offer can apply for a minimum of 1,000 offer shares and in multiples of 100 thereafter. If the aggregate demand in Category II is less than or equal to 30% of the offer, then after full allocation to the Category II applicants, the balance of the offer shares will be made available to the Category I applicants in the respective proportion outlined above for allocation at the offer price, if there is oversubscription in Category I.

Anchor Investors

636,601,716 offer shares have been allocated for Anchor Investors, being 30% of the total offer. In this respect, OQGN has received irrevocable commitments from the Saudi Omani Investment Company, a wholly owned entity of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Falcon Investments LLC, a subsidiary of Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar, and Fluxys International.

The anchor investors have in aggregate irrevocably committed RO89.124mn to the IPO representing a purchase price of 140bz per share, subject to the terms contained in their respective anchor investment agreements.

Talal al Awfi, OQ Group CEO and OQGN chairman, said, “We are immensely proud of this milestone and look forward to the launch of the IPO subscription period. OQGN has a compelling story, a track record of consistent delivery and is now taking a significant step forward to its next phase of growth.”

Mansoor al Abdali, managing director of OQGN, said, “We are confident in our position as the exclusive operator of gas transportation network in Oman and in our ability to provide critical infrastructure for both our domestic and international partners. Since announcing our intention to float on the MSX, we are pleased to see our strong position and performance reflected by significant interest from investors including our three, globally renowned, anchor investors. We believe that OQGN represents an attractive investment proposition, and we are excited for what is to come.”