Saudi-based ACE Arabia Cooperative Insurance Company has announced plans for an Initial Public Offering (IPO).

The IPO, to be listed on the Tadawul in Saudi Arabia,  will open on April 18 and  will run until April 27.

ACE Arabia will list with capital of SR100 million ($26.6 million) and four million shares will be offered to the public which represents 40 per cent of the company shares, said a statement.

Giles Ward, ACE’s regional managing director for Mena, said: "This development marks an important stage towards the finalisation of the establishment of ACE Arabia as a locally-domiciled company in Saudi Arabia. “

“Saudi Arabia has been a key market for ACE in the region for many years and our team there has done an excellent job in building a company with a strong track record of profitable growth. The completion of the IPO is the next stage in this history of success,” he said.

ACE has had a presence in the Saudi Arabian market for 30 years in partnership with the Elkhereiji Group whose executive director, Abdul Aziz Elkhereiji, said: “With our long track record of joint venture partnership and agency operation with the ACE group, we are very much looking forward to the incorporation of the Saudi-registered ‘ACE Arabia Cooperative Insurance Company’ in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with our historic partner.”

ACE’s Mena operations are headquartered in Manama, Bahrain.