SAMBA Capital & Investment Management Company announced the approval by the Capital Market Authority (CMA) of the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Leejam Sports Company.
The CMA has approved Leejam’s application for offering of 15,715,009 shares (representing 30% of the company’s share capital) to the public. Samba Capital will assume the role of Financial Advisor, Bookrunner, Lead Manager and sole Underwriter for Leejam’s IPO.
Leejam is considered the largest fitness center operator in Saudi Arabia and the MENA region. It owns and operates fitness centers under the “Fitness Time” brand. As of 31/12/2017, it operated a total of 112 fitness centers, of which 108 fitness centers were across 23 cities in Saudi Arabia and four fitness centers were in the UAE. Furthermore, Leejam as of 31/12/2017 had 31 fitness centers under development. The first “Fitness Time” center opened in Saudi Arabia in 2005 and since then the “Fitness Time” brand has become the leading fitness brand in the region with a multi-segmented offering catering to different gender, age, and income groups. In 2017, Leejam was ranked the 17th largest company globally by the International Health, Racquet & Sports Club Association (“HRSA) in terms of fully owned fitness centers.
Abdulmohsin Al Haqbani, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and Managing Director of Leejam, said: “Our journey began more than 10 years ago when the Company embarked on implementing its vision of bringing fitness to the Saudi society and helping people in adopting a healthy and an active lifestyle. The IPO is a transformative moment for Leejam as we continue to build upon our position as the leading fitness company in the region. The Company has an exciting future, given growing awareness about health and fitness. One of the key goals of the Government’s Vision 2030 is to promote health and fitness within the society and Leejam is ideally positioned to contribute towards the achievement of this goal. With the start of the licensing for female fitness centers in 2017 by the General Sports Authority, Leejam has developed and is implementing a comprehensive strategy of achieving market leadership position in the female fitness segment, similar to the male segment. Since opening the first Fitness Time Ladies center in July 2017, the Company’s network of female fitness centers in Saudi Arabia has grown to reach 14 centers as of 30/06/2018.” Mr. Abdulmohsin Al Haqbani also expressed his appreciation to CMA and Tadawul for their support through the process and their approval of the Company’s IPO.
Salik Ahmed, CEO of Samba Capital thanked Leejam and its shareholders for their confidence in Samba Capital, confirming Samba Capital’s ability to lead the IPO which will be the first fitness company to be listed not only in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia but also in the GCC. Samba Capital looks forward to a highly successful offering, in line with the previous IPOs that it has managed in the Saudi capital market, which will further cement its position as the leading IPO advisor in Saudi Arabia.
The IPO prospectus will be available on the websites of CMA (www.cma.org.sa), Leejam (www.leejam.com.sa) and Samba Capital (www.sambacapital.com). — SG
