IPO planned for builders of 115,000-capacity World Cup stadium
The firm building the 115,000-capacity stadium being used in the 2030 Fifa World Cup is planning an IPO to fund a record level of orders.
SGTM – whose portfolio is mostly in civil infrastructure – is behind the construction of the Hassan II Stadium near Casablanca, which could host the World Cup final when Morocco co-stages the quadrennial tournament with Spain and Portugal. Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will also host matches to celebrate the centenary of the first World Cup.
The Moroccan firm is planning an IPO with the Casablanca Stock Exchange to fund its record number of orders having secured $3.7bn in contracts as of September, according to Bloomberg.
“We are preparing SGTM to be IPO ready, and we are close in every aspect,” the firm’s director general Hamza Kabbaj said, adding that it “may open new doors and facilitate our strategy to bring in innovative financing solutions, while significantly scaling the size of the funding we can access.
“With the experience we have now accumulated in Morocco on major projects, it will be a natural evolution for us to return and become an active player particularly in Saudi Arabia.”
Following on from next year’s Fifa World Cup in Mexico, Canada and the United States, consecutive editions in (partly) Morocco and Saudi Arabia have seen a need for new and refurbished stadiums.
A total of 10 new-build arenas will be built for the Saudi World Cup in 2034, while the other five will see extensive renovations to provide a total of 15 arenas in five locations ranging from 45,400 in capacity to 92,700.
SGTM’s website states the firm “was born from the vision of Moroccan entrepreneurs driven by a sense of duty, technical rigor, and deep commitment to their country”. It was founded by Ahmed Kabbaj and M’Hammed Kabbaj in 1971.