Asyad Group to Sell Up to 6.25% of Asyad Shipping in Secondary Offering
The sale of existing shares is meant to push Asyad Shipping's free float past the 25% minimum required of listed companies in Oman.
Tariq Benali Tariq Benali covers business and corporate news across the UAE and MENA for Anecdoted, tracking the deals, leadership moves and regulatory shifts behind the region's companies. tariq@anecdoted.com
Asyad Group will sell as much as 6.25% of Asyad Shipping's issued share capital in a secondary offering, the group said Tuesday. The transaction is sized to lift the shipper's free float above 25%.
That level clears the floor the Financial Services Authority sets for companies listed in Oman. The sale splits into an institutional tranche equal to 5% of issued capital and a retail tranche of up to 1.25%. Every share on offer is an existing holding. None are newly issued, and the proceeds go to Asyad Group as seller rather than to the shipping business.
Oman Investment Bank and Sohar International Bank were appointed joint global coordinators and issue managers. The institutional portion runs as an accelerated bookbuild open to eligible investors in Oman and to certain institutional investors outside the United States under Regulation S. Books opened on October 20 and close on October 22. Final pricing and allocations are expected on October 26, subject to regulatory approval, with settlement and listing scheduled for November 4.
Retail subscriptions start only once institutional pricing is finished, and retail buyers pay the same offer price. Asyad Group's remaining shares carry a 180-day lock-up from institutional settlement, subject to customary exceptions and waivers.
A free float above the regulatory minimum does more than satisfy a listing rule. A wider spread of shares can shift how a stock is weighted in index-tracked portfolios and make it easier for large blocks to change hands without moving the price. For Asyad Group, the sale converts part of a controlling position into capital while keeping most of the company.
The offering follows Asyad Shipping's $332.8 million initial public offering on the Muscat Stock Exchange in March 2025.
Operating results have improved sharply since then. Revenue for the first nine months of 2026 came in at $721.5 million, or OMR 277.4 million, against $657.5 million, or OMR 252.8 million, in the same period a year earlier. Net profit reached $175.8 million, or OMR 67.6 million, more than double the $84.8 million, or OMR 32.6 million, reported previously.
Asyad Shipping expects to distribute a fixed annual dividend of $150 million for the financial year ending December 31, 2026. The payout remains subject to board discretion and shareholder approval.
As of June 30, the company operated 79 owned and chartered vessels, with another 12 on order. Its ships serve the crude oil, petroleum products, gas, dry bulk and liner trades.
Asyad Group chief executive Abdulrahman Al Hatmi ranked 25th in a 2026 list of the region's 100 most prominent chief executives.
The orderbook is what incoming shareholders are buying into: a fleet still expanding while the nine-month figures already exceed the prior year by a wide margin.
