Aramco is set to raise up to $12 billion from selling an additional stake in the Saudi market, in the second secondary offering this year in the region, indicating the activity of this type of offering, which is rare in the Arab region’s markets.
Saudi Arabia will begin selling an additional 1.545 billion shares of Aramco, representing about 0.64% of the company’s issued shares, on Sunday. The price range for the offering shares is between 26.7 riyals and 29 riyals per share, according to a statement published on the Saudi Stock Exchange website, meaning the secondary offering could raise up to $11.9 billion (44.8 billion Saudi riyals) if priced at its maximum.
This is the second secondary offering in the region this year after the UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) sold an additional stake in its drilling unit listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange for $935 million, in a secondary offering of about 880 million shares that witnessed great demand from Gulf and international investment institutions.
In addition to the two previous offerings, secondary offerings in the region during the current decade were limited to 3 major offerings, one of which was for STC in Saudi Arabia, during which the company raised about $3.2 billion, the offering of an additional stake by the Saudi Tadawul Group in 2022 worth $609.7 million, and the sale of more shares in its fuel sales unit (ADNOC Distribution) by the UAE’s ADNOC in 2021.
