Allen & Overy advises Roads and Transport Authority of Dubai on the IPO and listing of Dubai Taxi Company

Allen & Overy has advised the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) and Dubai Taxi Company (Dubai Taxi) on the initial public offering and listing of Dubai Taxi on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).

The IPO of Dubai Taxi continues the Dubai Government’s significant asset privatisation programme by way of IPO over the last 12 months (with others being the public utility, Dubai Electricity and Water Company (DEWA), the road tolling business, Salik and the infrastructure cooling utility, Empower). Dubai Taxi is also the second asset being floated by the RTA, following Salik last year.

The IPO comprises an offering of 24.99 per cent of the share capital of Dubai Taxi by way of a secondary sell down by the DOF (with no primary raise) with net proceeds of c.US$315m, and a market cap of c.USD1.26bn based on the IPO offer price. The IPO was 130 times oversubscribed, the highest oversubscription level ever for a Dubai IPO, demonstrating very strong investor demand. Dubai Taxi continues the active IPO market in the UAE over the last 24 months.

Khalid Garousha, partner at Allen & Overy, commented, “We are delighted to have advised the RTA and Dubai Taxi on this landmark transaction, which showcases the strength and resilience of the Dubai economy and its transport sector. This is the fourth major privatisation by way of IPO that we have advised on in the UAE in the last year, demonstrating our market-leading expertise and experience in this area.”

Jeff Hendrickson, U.S. partner at Allen & Overy, added, “This transaction demonstrates the continued strength of investor demand for IPOs in the region. We are proud to have supported our clients throughout this journey and to have delivered a successful outcome for them.”

The A&O team was led by UAE based partner Khalid Garousha and counsel Harsha Kumar, with London based US securities partner Jeff Hendrickson, supported by a cross border team including: UAE (Corporate): Faisal Buali (senior associate), Malek Zreiqat (senior associate) and Eugene Bang (associate); London: Carolyn Slauson Ali (senior associate, USCF), Valerio Di Mascio (associate, USCF), Adithyan Sreekumar (associate, CO), Yolanda Borquaye (associate, USCF), Victoria Sigle (associate, USCF) and Katherine Hu (US Law Clerk, USCF); UAE (Banking): Samer Eido (partner), Joe Riches (senior associate), Nadeen Haddadin (associate) and Nour Gemayel.