BrazilMeet the consultants that led Jahez’s $2.4 billion IPO
Saudi Arabian online food delivery platform Jahez has made its debut on the stock exchange, trading under the ticker symbol: 9526 on the Saudi Exchange’s Parallel Market (Nomu). Meet the M&A consultants that led the $2.4 billion initial public offering.
Jahez has had rapid growth trajectory since its launch in 2016 – yesterday the company became the first Saudi early stage startup to ever become a publicly-listed company within the space of five years (typically it takes startups 10 to 15 years to achieve such stellar growth).
Serving over 1.3 million users in 40+ cities across Saudi Arabia, Jahez’s product is similar to other food delivery providers worldwide. The company’s mobile allows consumers to browse local restaurants and food options, pick their items and complete their order on their phone. A partner network of 34,000 delivery partners then makes sure the food is delivered to people’s homes.
“Being the first homegrown Saudi technology startup to list on the Saudi Exchange’s Parallel Market is an incredible milestone in the growth journey of Jahez,” said HRH Prince Mishal bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Jahez.
Ghassab Al Mandeel, Chief Executive Officer at Jahez, added: “We thank our investors for their strong interest and support, a testament to our financial and operational strength and future growth potential.”
The listing enjoyed high demand from institutional investors and family offices and was oversubscribed. Having launched at a price of SAR 850 per share, Jahez is now valued at SAR 8.9 billion ($2.4 billion), making it one of biggest startups in the Middle East.
The IPO was led by HSBC, appointed the Financial Advisor and Lead Bookrunner, among others. AlRajhi Capital, Derayah Financial and Saudi Fransi Capital served as Joint Bookrunners. Arthur D. Little’s team in Saudi Arabia served as the strategic consultant to Jahez, with PwC providing financial due diligence services and law firm Salman Al-Sudairi taking responsibility for the legal side of the listing.
Finsbury Glover Hering acted as the communication advisors, while KPMG was the auditor during the IPO process.
Faris AlGhannam, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at HSBC Saudi Arabia, commented: “We are glad with the role we played in leading the first early stage company IPO in Saudi Arabia and the region, which differs in its preparation and offering process from the IPOs of other types of companies. This will set an important precedent for the scene in the Kingdom.”
With the funds raised, the food delivery platform aims to accelerate its growth journey by onboarding new users and restaurants. Meanwhile, the startup will invest in its operations, including in corporate governance, customer experience and logistics.
According to recent research from EY, the IPO market broke records in 2021 despite the continued impact of the pandemic, going down as the most active year in over 20 years.
