- iMENA Group raised USD 135 million ahead of its planned IPO in Saudi Arabia, with investments from PIF and FJ Labs.
- The funding will support iMENA’s pre-IPO efforts, business expansion, and increase stakes in portfolio companies like Opensooq.
- iMENA restructured as a Saudi Closed Joint Stock Company and plans vertical and geographic expansion across the MENA region.
iMENA Group
What happened? iMENA Group raised USD 135 million in capital as it plans for its initial public offering in Saudi Arabia. Sanabil Investments, subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) contributed to this funding alongside New York VC firm FJ Labs.
Furthermore, it also drew investments from Saygin Yalcin, founder of SellAnyCar amongst other Saudi investors. In addition, Al Rajhi Capital acted as financial advisor on the private placement.
What will they do with the funding? iMENA aims to use the capital for pre-IPO funding and to expand its business. It will also use the funding to increase its stakes in three of its portfolio companies: Opensooq, SellAnyCar, and Jeeny.
Additionally, it will use the funding to drive vertical and geographic expansion.
In preparation, iMENA has restructured into a Saudi Closed Joint Stock Company (CJSC) under the name of iMENA Holding. Moreover, Yalcin is joining the company’s board and management committee.
Stock Exchange
Who are they? iMENA Group operates online and mobile businesses for consumers and enterprises in the MENA market. It aims to enable businesses’ growth and expansion through a regional platform of strategic and operational services.
Founded in 2012, iMENA has operations in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Oman, Kuwait, and the broader Middle East region.
Why does this matter? Bloomberg reports that this comes amid the Saudi stock exchange attempting to attract more technology-related firms to list. This is to attract foreign investors in the Kingdom.
In recent years, Saudi businesses have been scaling up as Sanabil invests money aiming to foster economic diversification and job creation.
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