Saudi Arabia to raise $16.8b from Aramco share sale: WSJ
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: Saudi Arabia will raise more than USD11.2 billion ($16.8 billion) after pricing its offering of Aramco shares toward the lower end of the target range, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The numbers: Bankers for the follow-on offering are set to price the shares at 27.25 Saudi riyals ($10.9) each, according to people familiar with the matter who told WSJ. That compares to the target range of 26.70 to 29 riyals.
The stock, which is listed on Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul stock exchange, closed at 28.30 riyals on Thursday.
The context: Saudi Arabia, which owns over 82% of the Saudi Arabian Oil Co, known as Aramco, last week announced the plan to sell 1.545 billion shares in what is the world’s most valuable company.
The kingdom’s Public Investment Fund owns a further 16% stake with public investors as the balance. Aramco went public in 2019 in the world’s largest IPO to date, raising USD29.4 billion.
Saudi Arabia, under de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has toyed with selling additional stock in Aramco for a number of years, but was repeatedly thwarted by uncertain economic and market conditions. It was emboldened this time by global stock markets trading near records and benchmark oil prices at roughly USD80 a barrel for several months.
The source: Wall Street Journal
