(Bloomberg) -- High-end supermarket chain Spinneys received about 71 billion dirhams ($19.3 billion) in orders for its $375 million Dubai initial public offering, underscoring strong appetite for a rare private sector listing in the United Arab Emirates.

The offering was 64 times oversubscribed, excluding the cornerstone tranche, according to a statement on Wednesday. Investors snapped up all shares on offer minutes after books opened last week, indicating continued strong demand for regional listings.

Al Seer Group LLC, the family behind Spinneys 1961 Holding plc, sold 900 million shares at 1.53 dirhams apiece, which is at the top of a marketed range. The firm will have a market capitalization of about 5.51 billion dirhams, and its shares will start trading in Dubai on May 9.

The demand for Spinneys bodes well for other privately-held firms that may be weighing IPOs in the Gulf nation. The UAE has seen a wave of listings since late 2021, but the vast majority have been state-owned companies.

The last family-owned company to go public in the UAE was money exchange firm Al Ansari Financial Services PJSC, which raised $210 million last year. Its shares have been largely unchanged from their offer price.

Spinneys attracted Franklin Templeton as a cornerstone investor, another relatively rare feature in UAE listings, where anchors have typically been local funds. Fertiglobe plc’s Abu Dhabi listing in 2021 drew Singapore’s GIC Pte and U.S. hedge fund manager Jeff Ubben. 

Franklin Templeton and Emirates International Investment Company LLC together committed to subscribe for 275 million dirhams in Spinneys’ IPO.

Owned by the Al Bwardy family, Spinneys opened its first store in 1961 and now operates 75 supermarkets under the Spinneys, Waitrose and Al Fair brands in the UAE and Oman. It’s planning to expand into Saudi Arabia, the Gulf’s biggest economy, this year.

Emirates NBD Capital, Bank of America Corp., and HSBC Holdings Plc are joint global coordinators for Spinneys’ IPO, while EFG Hermes is a joint bookrunner. Rothschild & Co. is the independent financial adviser.

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