The Olayan family, which owns one of the biggest conglomerates in Saudi Arabia plans to take public a part of its business and list it on the country’s Tadawul stock exchange. The group may setup a holding company for 20 of its business units that are valued about $5billion. It has hired Saudi Fransi Capital as the financial adviser for the proposed IPO. Lubna Olayan, the founder’s daughter and former analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co., manages the group flagship, Olayin Financing. Olayin Financing is one of Saudi Arabia’s biggest makers of tubular oilfield equipment and manages more than 40 businesses in the Middle East including a Burger King franchise.
The Olayan group was founded in 1947 by Suliman Olayan. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index valued the group at more than $10bn in 2015. The Olayan group is also the largest shareholder in the Swiss financial powerhouse, Credit Suisse Group AG, in which it owns 5.1 percent stake. The group also owns some of the iconic real estate assets that include 550 Madison Avenue in New York City and the Knightsbridge Estate in central London.
Source: Bloomberg.com, May 1, 2017.
