Banking sources told Reuters that Saudi Aramco is in preliminary talks with banks to borrow about $ 10 billion to finance the acquisition deal for 70% of the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation. SABIC.


Aramco agreed last year to purchase the controlling stake in SABIC from the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund for $ 69.1 billion in one of the largest acquisition deals in the global petrochemical industry.


One of the sources said the financing will be for the SABIC deal, but the borrower is Aramco, adding that the discussions are at an initial stage and that the company is seeking the views of banks.


"Ten billion dollars is the amount that they want to get, it is not clear ... whether they will be able to get there," he added.


A second source said that among the banks participating in the talks, HSBC and JP Morgan, as well as banks in the Gulf.