Dubai's Depa plans $400 mln IPO, London listing

By James Cordahi and Ola Galal

DUBAI (Reuters) - Depa, a Dubai-based interiors contractor working on the world's tallest building, said it is seeking $400 million (200 million pounds) in an IPO by the end of April to finance expansion, and will list in Dubai and London.

The flotation will be only the second primary listing on the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX), which the emirate set up in 2005 to encourage local companies to sell shares to the public, and for foreign companies to tap growing regional wealth.

Depa, which won a $163 million contract in 2005 to fit out apartments in Emaar Properties' EMAR.DU Burj Dubai, will also list global depositary receipts in London, Chief Executive Officer Mohannad Sweid told Reuters on Wednesday, ahead of a meeting with reporters to announce the initial public offering.

"A big part of this money will go towards financing acquisitions in the next two years," Sweid said. The IPO, of a 40 percent stake, would value the company at $1 billion.

Like many real-estate-related companies in the Gulf, Depa is benefiting from a construction boom, fuelled by a five-fold increase in oil prices during the last six years to the world's biggest oil-exporting region.

Among other projects, Depa fitted out Dubai's Burj al-Arab, a hotel built on a man-made island just off Dubai's coast, that is in the shape of a sail.

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Depa's net profit last year surged 72 percent to 160.5 million dirhams ($43.71 million), it said in a statement earlier on Wednesday.