IPO to Start Next Week Amid Regional Listing Surge
Talabat, the Middle Eastern food ordering business of Germany’s Delivery Hero, plans to launch its highly anticipated Dubai initial public offering (IPO) next week, according to three sources cited by Reuters. This listing, valued at over $1 billion, is poised to be one of the largest IPOs in the UAE this year and could kick off as early as Monday.
The deal reflects growing momentum for IPOs in the region as governments push to diversify their economies beyond oil. Talabat, founded in Kuwait in 2004, has become the region’s leading food and grocery delivery service, boasting over six million active customers by mid-2024. It operates across the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt, providing not only food but also deliveries of groceries and beauty products.
Delivery Hero acquired a majority stake in Talabat in 2015. The parent company, based in Berlin, intends to maintain a controlling interest post-IPO, a move seen as crucial to reducing its debt. Although Delivery Hero shares have declined significantly from their pandemic-driven highs in 2021, analysts consider this IPO a “positive catalyst” for its equity position and overall balance sheet de-leveraging.
Talabat faces competition from regional players such as Saudi Arabia’s Jahez and Uber-owned Careem. However, it remains a top-performing on-demand delivery platform, contributing a substantial portion of Delivery Hero’s gross merchandise value (GMV) in the Middle East and North Africa.
