Americana is studying a possible listing in the UAE and Saudi Arabia

DUBAI (Archyde.com) – Americana Group, the franchisee of KFC and Pizza Hut, has hired investment bank Rothschild to advise on a potential initial public offering, two sources told Archyde.com. The two sources added that Americana, which is considering a public offering in the UAE or Saudi Arabia, is expected to invite banks to play other important roles in the process in the coming weeks. The two sources asked not to be named because the matter has not yet been announced. Americana is owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund and an investment consortium led by Mohamed Alabbar, founder of Emaar Properties. Neither Americana nor Alabbar responded to a request for comment when contacted by Archyde.com on Wednesday. Rothschild Bank declined to comment. The two sources said that shareholders may also consider a dual listing on the two stock exchanges. Alabbar’s Adeptio unit acquired Americana in 2016. The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia bought a 50 percent stake in Adeptio later that year. The value of the Americana Group was $3.5 billion in 2017, when it was delisted from the Kuwait Stock Exchange. In 2019, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) concluded an agreement to enhance joint cooperation and dual listing in the financial markets in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Founded in Kuwait in 1964, Americana operates 1,800 restaurants across the region, according to its website. The company operates franchises for KFC, Pizza Hut, Hardee’s and Krispy Kreme restaurants, among others. Gulf institutions have raised $3.5 billion this year from initial public offerings, according to Refinitiv data, outstripping the proceeds from offering new European shares, despite the continued volatility of global markets in the wake of the Russian attack on Ukraine. Gulf markets are closely linked to oil prices, with Brent crude currently trading above $100 per barrel. The (Tadawul) index in Saudi Arabia has risen by 17 percent this year so far, while the main index in Abu Dhabi has risen by more than 18 percent and Dubai by more than 9 percent.