Saudi Food Delivery Platform Jahez to Go Public

Saudi-based food delivery startup Jahez is readying its initial public offering (IPO) on the Saudi stock exchange, according to a Wednesday (Dec. 1) press release.

The company intends to list 1.36 million shares, or 13% of its share capital post-listing, according to the announcement. In addition, the offer shares consist of a secondary offering of 4.5% of total share capital, by way of a pro-rata sell down by Jahez shareholders, and a primary offering of 8.5% of the total share capital through the issuance of new shares, according to the company.

Pricing for shares will be determined at the conclusion of the IPO process.

Taking Jahez public enables local and regional expansion, according to the company.

Since the food delivery platform was established in 2016, Jahez has amassed more than 1.3 million active users, including more than 12,000 merchant branches and more than 34,000 delivery partners in 47 cities throughout Saudi Arabia.

Orders delivered have surpassed 68 million, with 36 million orders in the first nine months of this year.

“We continue to expand our successful food delivery platform to tap into new growth opportunities offered by rapid changes in consumer behavior while investing in our proprietary technology and new business verticals, including cloud kitchens, quick commerce and last mile logistics, to capture future growth,” said Jahez CEO Ghassab Al Mandeel.

“We remain agile, taking advantage of the economies of scale and the network effect to meet the needs of customers, in line with our vision of becoming the most loved lifestyle platform with the largest presence in the Middle East,” Mandeel said.

In the wake of the pandemic, the popularity of third-party restaurant delivery services, such as Grubhub and Uber Eats, has grown exponentially.

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Recent research from PYMNTS’ How We Eat Playbook determined that consumers are 31% more likely to purchase meals to eat at home as compared to dining out at restaurants, while 43% are more likely to order restaurant delivery now as opposed to before the start of the pandemic.