DP World rumored to be considering $2 billion IPO
Dubai Ports World, the industry's third-biggest terminal operator, is considering an initial public offering to raise $2 billion to feed the ambitious company's expansion plans, according to a report in the Middle East Economic Digest.
DP World, which is said to be considering a listing on the Dubai Stock Exchange, last year hired Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch to advise the terminal operator about a possible IPO, MEED said.
The company sunk nearly $7 billion into the acquisition of P&O Ports in 2006, though the chairman of DP World's parent company Dubai World, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, told Reuters in July that an offering 'was not an option' at that time.
'An IPO is one of several options for financing the expansion of DP World’s business and no decisions have been taken,' a DP World spokesperson told American Shipper today.
