MBC Group shares jump 30 pct on Saudi Exchange debut

MBC Group shares soared by 30 percent to 32.5 riyals ($8.7) on Monday with the commencement of trading on the Saudi stock market. Leading the day’s gains, MBC Group’s shares saw significant trading activity, with around 37.3 million riyals ($9.9 million) exchanged over approximately 1.15 million shares by 10:17 pm Saudi time.

Marking its debut as the first listing of 2024, MBC Group – the largest Mideast broadcaster – began trading on the main Saudi stock market on January 8. The trading involved 4072 transactions under the international symbol SA15U0C0Chvk19. The initial offering price was set at 25 riyals ($6.67) per share.

MBC Group Chairman Sheikh Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “Our vision has become a reality with MBC’s inclusion in one of the top 10 financial markets globally.” He further noted that this listing would facilitate the group’s expansion and enhance its competitiveness on the global stage.

The broadcaster, founded in 1991, is considered the first privately owned pan-Arab satellite television group. It operates 13 free-to-air TV channels and runs the streaming platform Shahid.

The Saudi Exchange, also known as “Tadawul”, is the authorized entity in the Kingdom. It had previously announced that the daily price fluctuation limits would be 30 percent, either up or down, with fixed price fluctuation boundaries set at 10 percent for the first three days of listing. After this initial period, the daily price fluctuation limits will revert to 10 percent, and the fixed boundaries will be removed.

In preparation for this milestone, MBC Group offered its shares for subscription at the end of last year. The group issued 33.25 million of its regular shares, which constituted 10 percent of the company’s capital, at a launch price of 25 riyals ($6.67) per share. This offering generated total revenues of 831 million riyals ($218.9 million), valuing the company at 8.3 billion riyals ($2.21 billion).

The group announced the successful completion of the subscription process for individual investors on December 21, as per the group’s statement on Tadawul’s official website.

The allocation strategy for individual subscribers, outlined in the statement, involved a minimum of 9 shares per individual. The remaining shares were allocated proportionally based on each subscriber’s request volume relative to the total remaining shares, with an allocation rate of 0.1623 percent.

The subscription period for individual investors spanned from December 14 to December 18, 2023. This segment fully subscribed to the 3.325 million shares allotted to it, representing 10 percent of the total shares offered at 25 riyals per share.

A total of 359,464 individuals participated, and the subscription was oversubscribed by 17.6 times, with individual requests totaling approximately 1.46 billion riyals ($389 million). Each person was allocated a minimum of 9 shares.

The institutional subscription was oversubscribed by 66 times, attracting bids worth 54.5 billion riyals ($14.5 million), reflecting strong investor confidence and setting the share price at the upper limit of 25 riyals per share.

The Capital Market Authority in Saudi Arabia has more than 47 ready listing applications, indicating that 2024 could be a strong year, particularly if accompanied by a reduction in global interest rates.