Dubai: Talabat to launch over $1-billion IPO next week, sources say

Talabat, the Middle East business of Delivery Hero, plans to launch its Dubai initial public offering next week, three people familiar with the plans told Reuters, in one of the UAE's biggest IPOs this year.

The deal, set by the German parent for the fourth quarter, could start as soon as Monday, two of the sources said. It could see the largest food ordering business in the Middle East sell stock worth more than $1 billion, according to two of them.

Dubai-based Talabat and Delivery Hero declined to comment.

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The IPO rides a retail spending boom in the Gulf and comes amid a frenzy of public listings in the region as governments push to cut their dependence on oil.

Hypermarket chain operator Lulu Retail raised $1.72 billion on Wednesday.

Founded in 2004 in Kuwait, Talabat has since expanded to serve customers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, with over six million active customers as of the end of July, according to company data.

Besides food, it provides deliveries of groceries and other goods including health and beauty products.

Germany's Delivery Hero bought a majority stake in Talabat in 2015. The Berlin-based online takeaway food company said in August it planned to retain a majority stake, with analysts flagging the deal could help cut its debt.

Its Frankfurt-listed shares have fallen over 74% from their January 2021 highs fuelled by pandemic demand.

The IPO "represents a highly positive catalyst for the equity (of Delivery Hero)," said Jefferies analyst Giles Thorne in a video note earlier this week, citing "very low execution risk" and a material de-leverage of the balance sheet.

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