Al Jaber subsdiary GPS UAE listing

[sharewadi]

Al Jaber Group may list subsidiary GPS in UAE

This follows on from a Bloomberg report about the GPS listing in London. A bit of a mixup in the names though? Bloomberg says GPS boss is Clint Elgar, Gulf News says he's Bill Dlgar? Bloomberg article follows Gulf News article below. See also UAE stock listings.

Gulf News 18 January 2007:

Al Jaber plans secondary listing of GPS in UAE By Saifur Rahman, Business News Editor Dubai: Abu Dhabi-based diversified conglomerate Al Jaber Group is likely to offer a secondary listing of its newly acquired subsidiary GPS Group, which is preparing for a $55 million initial public offering (IPO) on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in February. "Once we complete the IPO and list GPS shares on the AIM, we will then look into a secondary listing of its stocks in one of the stock markets in the UAE," Fatima Al Jaber, chief operating officer of Al Jaber Group, told Gulf News on Tuesday. GPS, headquartered in Dubai, is an established provider of technology-based process facility solutions to the upstream oil and gas production and processing industry. Al Jaber Group owns 80 per cent of GPS. Its principal businesses focus on fast-growth sectors in oil services solutions, ranging from supply of modular process plant, turnkey design, procurement, engineering and construction, and commissioning and ongoing operation support. Expansion Al Jaber is currently expanding its portfolio as it consolidates its position, she said. GPS' listing is the group's first attempt in taking any of its businesses to public. "We have 20,000 employees and are growing as the UAE economy grows. We are currently entering the real estate business in a big way as there are more opportunities opening up," Al Jaber, a UAE national and engineer, said. In 2005, she was voted by Forbes Arabia as the eighth most influential woman in the Arab world and this position is confirmed by her appointments to the Board of Directors for companies including The National Investor, Abu Dhabi Takaful Company and Al Jaber Holdings. "The new money from the IPO will be utilised for expansion of the company in the region's oil and gas industry." GPS has a blue chip client base including Addax, Occidental, Royal Dutch Shell, Fred Olsen, Petrofac, Petronas Carigali, Murphy Oil, Talisman, Nexen, DNO, SBM, Modec, Santos, Tanker Pacific, Premier Oil, Bergesen, NIOC and OMV. Bill Dlgar, GPS' chief executive, said the company is planning to acquire a third oil rig, having already two in the fleet. "The funds raised through the IPO will help us in acquisition and invest in fabrication facilities as well as acquire new assets," he said. "We are looking at Southeast Asia for possible expansion including more acquisition of assets." GPS last year recorded a turnover of $91 million, which the company expects to nearly double to $175 million, he said.

Bloomberg 14 January 2007:

U.A.E.'s GPS Group Aims to Raise $55 Million in IPO By Claudia Maedler GPS Group Ltd., an oil-services company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, plans to raise at least $55 million through selling shares in London as it seeks to purchase a fourth oil rig and expand its activities. The initial public offering will value the company, which plans to list on London's AIM, at about $150 million, its chief executive officer Clint Elgar said in a telephone interview from London today. He expects the shares to start trading "at the end of February, beginning of March" and did not say how many shares would be sold, nor at what price. "The next two or three years will probably be the busiest time for oil service companies in the past 20 years, because of the amount of projects already announced," Elgar said. He expects the company to operate six rigs by 2010, if demand remains strong. The ten members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the U.A.E., that adhere to production quotas are investing an estimated $100 billion in projects to increase daily oil output capacity to help meet rising demand, according to OPEC's official Web site. GPS Group seeks to almost double its revenue this year to $160-175 million, after sales of about $90 million in 2006, the CEO said. Offshore Two of the company's off-shore production units started operating in September and October in Malaysia and Indonesia. The service company expects to sign a contract for the third rig in the second-half of this year. After the share sale, majority owner Abu Dhabi-based Al Jaber Group will own "around 50 percent" of GPS Group down from the 80 percent. Elgar and partner Svein Riibe each hold 10 percent of the company, they intend to keep "a majority" of their current holdings. GPS Group operates from Dubai, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, has a sales presence in Houston, Calgary, Jakarta and Tehran and employs 450 people worldwide. Evolution is GPS Group's adviser and broker for the share sale and admission's to AIG, according to the statement. Crude oil for February delivery fell $3.32, or 5.9 percent, to $52.99 a barrel last week on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was the fourth straight weekly decline. Prices touched $51.56, the lowest since May 31, 2005 during the Friday trading session.

_________________
UAE IPO list | posting guidelines