Tabby’s representatives provided a timeline of 12 to 18 months for the IPO. However, this can be influenced by market conditions, with the company mentioning concerns regarding the impact of oil prices and broader recession. In the meantime, Tabby intends to continue to develop and prepare for the IPO, awaiting to ensure that the markets to turn around.
Initially founded in Dubai, Tabby transferred its headquarters to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2023, preparing for a listing in Riyadh. According to its data from June 2024, the company, which enables customers to pay for goods in instalments, had 12 million registered users and partnered with approximately 40,000 brands. Currently, Tabby delivers its services in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait.
Recently, the company joined forces with Checkout.com to expand BNPL solutions in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with it integrating its services into the latter’s platform. Through this, merchants were set to be able to provide flexible and high-performance payment solutions to their customers at checkout.
Tabby’s IPO
Prior to this announcement, Tabby obtained USD 160 million in a Series E funding round, which brought its valuation to USD 3.3 billion. Now, the company considers the private round a right move, and it aims to ensure that proper buffers are in place for fluctuating market conditions. Tabby underlined that even if the IPO market for state-led and real estate entities has been tested in the MENA region, there have been few IPOs across growth plays, including those in the tech sector. Additionally, questions regarding who is set to price growth plays are still present, whether those will be global investors or regional ones. The company is still unsure whether retaining international investors could pose difficulties, as share allocations for global investors in the region are rather small.
Just before receiving the capital, Tabby started working with banks, including HSBC Holdings, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley, for the IPO. At that time, no final decision was made on the timing or the size of the offer.
