Talabat to become UAE's biggest IPO this year after raising its offer

Talabat, one of the largest food ordering businesses in the Middle East, is set to be the largest initial public offering (IPO) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this year after parent firm Delivery Hero announced on Wednesday it had increased the offering.

Germany's Delivery Hero said in a statement it had increased the offer size to a 20% stake from 15%, citing "significant international and regional investor demand".

The IPO on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) could raise as much as $2 billion if priced at the top of its indicative price range of 1.5 - 1.6 dirhams per share.

Lulu Retail Holdings this month raised $1.72 billion by floating a 30% stake in Abu Dhabi in the UAE's largest IPO this year to date.

Founded in 2004 in Kuwait, Talabat has expanded to the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. It had more than six million active customers as of September.