In 2025 the UAE expects to see $6 billion raised in IPOs, with the leading IPOs predicted to be Etihad and Dubizzle.
IPOs mean more diversity throughout a business – and more women on boards for gender equality.
A quota for one woman on the board was first set in 2021 for the UAE’s listed companies (PJSCs). As of 2025, the same quota has also been set for the hundreds of UAE private joint-stock companies (PrJSCs).
This means there will be a huge demand for board-ready women leaders in the next year or so.
UK data from late 2024 shows that all growth in the number of women directors on FTSE-250 boards has come from Senior Independent Directors (SIDs) (a type of leading Non-Executive Director or NED).
Aurora50’s Pathway20 is a 12-week board accelerator to help senior women become GCC-based board directors. The next cohort starts in April: we invite applications – both for corporate packages and individuals.
Another big regional IPO this year is expected to come not from the UAE or Saudi Arabia but Oman. Oman’s OQ Exploration and Production (OQEP) is expected to raise up to 780 million Omani riyals ($2.03 billion) on the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX).
[Related: UAE IPOs 2024 | UAE IPOs 2023 | UAE IPOs 2022 | DEI – part of the ‘S’ and ‘G’ in ESG]
Key
📈 Under $1 billion raised
📈📈 $1 billion and over raised
📈📈📈 $2 billion and over raised
UAE IT services company Alpha Data is planning an IPO in Abu Dhabi.
Alpha Data is seeking to raise $200 million from the listing, according to Bloomberg.
Founded in 1981, Alpha Data’s technologies encompass artificial intelligence, mobility, security, Internet of Things, big data and cloud computing.
The UAE’s largest online classifieds platform achieved unicorn status after securing $200 million in funding in 2022.
The group rebranded in 2023, having previously traded as Emerging Marketplaces Group.
Today, Dubizzle Group owns several leading marketplaces in the Gulf region, including Dubizzle itself, Bayut (the UAE’s biggest dedicated real estate portal) and Zameen in Pakistan.
Dubizzle Group has mandated Emirates NBD, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Morgan Stanley to facilitate its DFM-based deal, worth between $500 million and $1 billion.
It has not confirmed a date or bourse for its floatation.
Etihad is poised to become the first Gulf airline to go public but plans its IPO “no earlier than 2025”, according to sources.
Etihad reportedly considered listing in 2024. It is thought an IPO could raise at least $1 billion.
Based in Abu Dhabi, Etihad is owned by sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ), which also has Abu Dhabi Airports and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi in its portfolio,
Etihad, which began flying in 2003, has expanded under new CEO Antonoaldo Neves. Under its Journey 2030 strategy, it plans to boost Abu Dhabi’s role as a travel hub connecting Asia and Europe.
It plans to invest $7 billion over the next five years and to double the size of its fleet by 2030.
Mr Neves says Etihad’s mandate is “to deliver extraordinary customer service and sustainable profitability, as the foundation for Etihad’s contribution to Abu Dhabi’s aspirations”.
In August 2024, Etihad reported a 48 percent increase in half-year after tax profit, with passenger numbers rising 38% to 8.7 million, after full-year net profits in 2022 and 2023.
FIVE Holdings, UAE’s real estate developer and hospitality group, plans to go public on DFM in 2025, founder and chairman Kabir Mulchandani told Forbes in an interview.
“We’re looking at an equity listing, and the plan right now is 2025,” he said, adding, “We’re very well capitalised now. The goal now is to continue to improve our transparency and our governance, to do the investor calls on a quarterly basis and to act like a public company before we become a public company.”
It also planned to offer employees a “significant portion” of shares.
FIVE Holdings, which manages luxury hotels in Dubai, Ibiza and Switzerland, estimates its worth at $2.5 – $3 billion. It has brought in Citi and Deutsche Bank to manage the IPO.
E-commerce platform Noon.com may IPO in 2025. It has been reporting it may list in “five to seven years” since 2016, although in 2023 founder Mohamed Alabbar denied any immediate plans.
He said: “Such a step will be taken into consideration in the future, especially as the Arab world is in need of a publicly listed e-commerce entity.”
Noon’s current focus is on accelerating growth and expansion across its key markets, which include the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
While the company plans to enter new markets, its primary concern is securing a strong foothold in its main markets.
Noon, which is also backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is one of the biggest e-commerce players in the UAE, behind Amazon.ae, namshi.com, carrefouruae.com and Apple.
![[Aurora50 template] Dr Noura Al Dhaheri, head of the Digital Cluster at Abu Dhabi Ports and CEO of Maqta Gateway](https://aurora50.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/002_DrNoura.jpg "[Aurora50 template] Dr Noura Al Dhaheri, head of the Digital Cluster at Abu Dhabi Ports and CEO of Maqta Gateway")
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