Americana adds HSBC to list of banks for Gulf dual listing – sources

The HSBC bank logo is seen in the Canary Wharf financial district in London, Britain March 3, 2016. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause

DUBAI, Aug 1 (Reuters) – The franchisee of fast food restaurants KFC and Pizza Hut in the Middle East and North Africa has added HSBC (HSBA.L) to its syndicate of advisers for its potential dual listing this year, two sources close to the case told Reuters.

Americana Group has hired HSBC as a joint bookrunner on the initial public offering (IPO), which could value the company up to $8 billion, the sources said, declining to be named because the deal is n is not public. One of the sources said more bookkeepers could be added.

Americana, which is considering a public sale of shares in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. HSBC declined to comment.

Americana has selected Goldman Sachs (GS.N), Morgan Stanley, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) (FAB.AD) and Saudi National Bank (SNB) (1180.SE) as global co-coordinators of the agreement, separate sources told Reuters. in April. Read more

Rothschild & Co (ROTH.PA) is working as financial adviser on the IPO, other sources told Reuters in April. Read more

Americana is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and an investment consortium led by Dubai businessman Mohammed Alabbar, founder of Dubai-listed Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU).

Americana was founded in Kuwait in 1964 and operates 1,800 restaurants in the region, according to its website. It operates the franchises of KFC, Pizza Hut, Hardee’s and Krispy Creme, among others.

Gulf issuers raised more than $11 billion in the first half of this year from IPOs, Refinitiv data shows, outpacing European IPOs even as global markets remain volatile in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Gulf markets are highly correlated to oil prices, where Brent is trading above $100 a barrel.

Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul stock index is up 9% this year, while Abu Dhabi’s main benchmark is up more than 15% and Dubai is up more than 5%.

Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh Editing by Mark Potter

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.