The owner of tobacco company Al Fakher has hired Rothschild & Co to advise it on strategic options, including a possible initial public offering (IPO), two sources familiar with the matter said, reports Reuters.

An IPO would take place in the region, either on Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul or the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the sources said.
Al Fakher is owned by Advanced Inhalation Rituals, a private company that is majority owned by London-based Kingsway Capital. Rothschild and AIR declined to comment.
Al Fakher, which was founded in 1999, manufactures flavoured shisha molasses sold in more than 100 countries.
According to Dealogic, Middle Eastern companies bucked the global trend by raising about USD 22 billion through IPOs last year, more than half the total for the entire Europe, Middle East and Africa region, the report said.