DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi oil giant Aramco’s base oil subsidiary Luberef expects to lift as much as 4.95 billion riyals ($1.32 billion) from its initial public offering, it said, if it prices at the highest of a spread announced on Sunday.
Luberef will sell nearly 30% of the corporate’s issued share capital, or 50.045 million shares, at between 91 and 99 riyals each, the corporate said in an announcement.
State-led IPO programmes in Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have helped equity capital markets within the oil-rich Gulf, in sharp contrast to america and Europe, where global banks have been trimming headcount in a dealmaking drought.
Gulf issuers have raised about $16 billion through such listings this yr, accounting for about half of total IPO proceeds from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Refinitiv data shows.
A minimum of 75% of the Luberef shares being sold will probably be offered to institutional investors, with bookbuilding getting underway on Sunday and running until Friday.
The ultimate share price will probably be announced next Sunday, with subscriptions for individual investors running from Dec. 14 to Dec. 18. A date has not yet been set for shares to start trading on Riyadh’s Tadawul exchange.
Aramco owns 70% of Luberef and Saudi investment bank Jadwa Investment the remaining 30%.
Saudi Aramco’s record listing in late 2019, later boosted to total $29.4 billion in proceeds, was the world’s largest IPO.
Aramco, which has raised billions from deals linked to its pipeline infrastructure, can be planning an IPO of its energy-trading business.
The dominion’s privatisation programme is a cornerstone of its Vision 2030 economic agenda to wean the economy off oil, construct recent industries and create jobs.
(Reporting by Yousef Saba; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
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