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Phoenix Group adjusts public trading launch date

Web3 & Enterprise·November 30, 2023, 2:24 AM

While experiencing a considerable over-subscription during its pre-market sale on Nov. 21, Dubai-headquartered crypto mining firm Phoenix Group has had to announce a slight delay to its initial public offering (IPO) on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX).

Photo by David Rodrigo on Unsplash

 

Accounting for the UAE holiday schedule

In an announcement published on Tuesday, Phoenix Group revealed that it would list its shares on Dec. 5 instead of the initially planned Dec. 4. The adjustment is attributed to the public holidays declared for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) National Day, celebrated on Dec. 2. The day marks the formation of the UAE, and the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has designated Dec. 2, 3 and 4 as public holidays for the private sector.

“To honor this occasion and ensure comprehensive participation in the IPO, Phoenix Group PLC has rescheduled its listing date to December 5th, 2023,” the announcement states.

 

IPO oversubscription

As advised by the company earlier this month, Phoenix Group achieved a successful closure of its IPO on Nov. 18, experiencing an over-subscription of 33 times the available share offering. The offering of 907,323,529 shares witnessed overwhelming demand, with retail investors oversubscribing 180 times and professional investors contributing to a 22-fold over-subscription.

Discussions regarding the IPO launch in the UAE have been underway since at least July of this year, although public knowledge of the company’s intentions only became known in recent weeks.

Speaking about the objective of the recent public listing, the company’s co-founders, Bijan Alizadeh and Munaf Ali, wrote:

“Our aim is to be able to help create a more resilient, inclusive and diversified global blockchain economy, and this IPO is just the first step towards achieving that goal.”

 

725MW mining capacity

The UAE-based mining operator is in the process of developing one of the largest mining facilities in the Middle East. Founded in 2016, the firm now manages 725MW of mining capacity globally, with facilities in the U.S., Canada, Europe and the Middle East.

In August, it emerged that Phoenix is a key stakeholder in the development of a $300 million 150MW mining farm project which will be located at the Green Data City in the Omani capital, Muscat.

Abu Dhabi-based conglomerate International Holding Company (IHC) acquired a ten percent stake in Phoenix in October. Co-founder Bijan Alizadeh is also a co-founder of M2, an Abu Dhabi-based cryptocurrency exchange that recently received a Multilateral Trading Facility and custodian license from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

 

IPO activity

Coming off the back of a bear market, IPO activity has been scarce within the crypto space recently. That said, it emerged recently that South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb is working towards an IPO which it hopes to complete in the second half of 2025. Meanwhile, Ripple Labs has delayed its IPO plans due to regulatory challenges the company is currently dealing with in the U.S. Earlier this month, it emerged that USDC stablecoin issuer, Circle, is looking to launch an IPO in 2024.

As Phoenix Group readies itself for public trading, the adjusted launch date aligns with the company’s strategy to maximize participation and capitalize on the UAE’s crypto-friendly environment.

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