Initial Public Offerings 2018

Introduction

An initial public offering ("IPO") is a process by which a company offers its shares, for the first time, to the public by virtue of drafting and publishing a prospectus on the company and carrying out a public subscription of its shares, after submitting required documentation to the relevant governmental authorities and obtaining their approvals in relation thereto.

Under the laws and regulations of the United Arab Emirates ("UAE"), in order for a company to offer its shares to the public, the said company must be or take up the legal form of a public joint stock company. Accordingly, a company wishing to execute an IPO will be either a newly incorporated public joint stock company, or a company assuming the legal form of a private joint stock company or a limited liability company that undergoes a conversion process to become a public joint stock company.