Abu Dhabi’s First IPO of the Year Slumps in Rare Debut Drop (1)

Alef Education Holding Plc shares dropped on their Abu Dhabi debut, a rarity in the Middle East where initial public offerings have typically yielded near-guaranteed returns in early trading.

The shares fell as much as 19% from the offer price of 1.35 dirhams apiece, before paring the decline to close 13% lower. That contrasted with the strong demand for the stock when the IPO was unveiled — investors put in orders worth $20 billion and the deal, which priced at the top of the range and raised 1.89 billion dirhams ($515 million), was 39 times oversubscribed.

“Opening up below IPO ...