Dubai Parks and Resorts, a subsidiary of Meraas Holding, has launched its IPO on the Dubai Financial Market with AED 2.5 billion made available to investors.
The offering, which consists of 2,528,731,083 ordinary shares, represents 40 per cent of the company’s post-offer issued share capital. The shares are priced at AED 1.00 per share, inferring a total offer size of approximately AED 2.5 billion which, when added to the ordinary shares to be applied for by Meraas Holding, will result in a total market capitalization on listing of approximately AED 6.3 billion.
Dubai Parks and Resorts will be a multi-themed leisure and entertainment destination comprising three separate theme parks: motiongate™, a Hollywood inspired theme park concept based on major DreamWorks and Sony Pictures movies; LEGOLAND® Dubai, the first LEGOLAND® theme park in the Middle East; and Bollywood Parks™, a first-of-its-kind entertainment destination that will showcase the authentic Bollywood movie experience.
The development will also host Hotel Lapita, a four star resort hotel which will be managed by a Marriott Corporation company, and Riverpark™, a complementary and centrally located retail, dining and entertainment district connecting the three theme parks and hotel. Strategically located close to the Palm Jebel Ali between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the project is due for completion before the end of 2016, and the total estimated number of visits in the first full year of operation in 2017 is approximately 6.7 million.
Commenting on the IPO, Raed Al Nuaimi, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Parks and Resorts, said, “The Middle East is forecast to be the fastest growing region for inbound tourism in the world, with visitor numbers nearly trebling to 149 million by 20301. Dubai is ideally located to benefit from the growing level of tourism and is already the fifth most visited city in the world with 11.95 million visitors as of July 2014. Three billion people live within a four hour flight radius of Dubai which already offers complementary world class leisure and entertainment options.