New Aramco share offering to raise $11.2bn for reforms

AFP | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia  

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Saudi oil giant Aramco yesterday said it would price its secondary offering at 27.25 Saudi riyals ($7.27) per share, in the lower end of its range, allowing it to raise $11.2 billion.

The mostly state-owned jewel of the Saudi economy announced last week it would sell 1.545 billion shares, or approximately 0.64% of its issued shares, on the Saudi stock exchange.

The move follows an initial public offering in December 2019 that raised $25.6 billion, the biggest flotation in history, and will offer a short-term boost to Saudi Arabia’s finances as the Gulf kingdom builds large-scale projects including resorts and stadiums as part of ambitious economic reforms.

The share price announced yesterday, disclosed in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange, is at the low end of the range of 26.70 to 29 Saudi riyals ($7 to $7.70) announced last week.

It follows days of book-building for investors inside and outside the kingdom, allowing officials to gauge demand.

About 10% of the shares were offered to retail investors from Monday. “The retail offering was fully subscribed and received a total of 1,331,915 subscribers,” Friday’s statement from Aramco said.

Trading of the newly offered shares is set to begin Sunday.

Aramco ended trading on Thursday at 28.30 Saudi riyals per share, giving it a market capitalisation of around $1.83 trillion.

The share price announced on Friday would value the firm at around $1.76 trillion. It was unclear on Friday how much investor demand has come from outside Saudi Arabia.