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By Yomna Ehab and Hadeel Al Sayegh
May 17 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's First Milling Co said it intends to proceed with an initial public offering (IPO) and listing of its ordinary shares on the Saudi Exchange.
The offering is likely to comprise a sale of existing shares and result in a free float of 30% of the flour milling company's share capital, it said in a statement to the exchange on Wednesday.
The company has a market share of 33.8% and distributes its product across the kingdom, with a prominent presence in four key regions: Makkah, Al-Qassim, Tabuk and the Eastern Region.
The company was the first of several flour milling privatizations in Saudi Arabia, sold to Raha AlSafi consortium for $540 million in 2020.
The consortium was led by Saudi Arabian firm Almutlaq Group and included Al Safi, Abunayyan Holding and United Arab Emirates-based Essa Al Ghurair Investment, with investment bank Canaccord Genuity acting as financial adviser, a person familiar with the matter said at the time.
Companies from the Middle East raised some $21.9 billion through IPOs in 2022, accounting for more than half the total from the wider Europe, Middle East and Africa region, showed data from Dealogic. (Reporting by Yomna Ehab; Editing by Chris Reese and Christopher Cushing)
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