Bahrain’s Silah Gulf to sell 30% stake in IPO

Silah Gulf, an outsourcing company owned by a unit of Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat, plans to sell a 30 percent stake in the company through an initial public offering.

The Manama-based company plans to sell 16.35 million new shares, bringing the total capital to BHD5.2 million ($2.65 million), the company announced.

The shares will be offered at 176 fils per share, a premium of 76 percent over the nominal price of 100 fils, it added.

The IPO will be on offer between December 29 and January 19. Trading is scheduled to take place on February 3 on the Bahrain Bourse.

Established in 2009, Silah Gulf offers a portfolio of services including contact centre and customer service outsourcing, marketing, telesales and back office management in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.

Future growth is expected to come from organic opportunities such as cross-selling new products, finance and knowledge process outsourcing, sectoral diversification and new partnerships.

The company is in discussion with Invita, a wholly owned unit of Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait, to further consolidate its presence in the Gulf region.

Sico is the lead manager for the public offering.

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Marsat, which is owned by Mumtalakat through Bahrain Investment Holding, owns a 99 percent stake in Silah Gulf.

Listings in the Gulf region fell by a third to their lowest level since 2020 as lower oil prices dented investor appetite. 

Gulf IPOs expected in 2026 include Dubai Investment Park, the real estate arm of Dubai Investments, and Oman India Fertiliser Company of Muscat. 

Etihad Airways and Binghatti Holding are also tipped to list, although the Abu Dhabi airline and the Dubai-based developer have not confirmed IPO plans.