Saudi Aramco to raise $25.6bn in biggest IPO ever
Saudi Aramco set the price of its initial public offering at a level that would raise $25.6bn, a sum that is expected to make it the world's biggest IPO.
The state-owned oil business will emerge as the world's most valuable listed company after valuing its shares at 32 riyals ($8.53) apiece before its float on Riyadh's stock exchange next week.
At this price the mega-float would exceed the record $25bn debut of the Chinese online retailer Alibaba to make Aramco's IPO the biggest in history.
Aramco relied on domestic and regional investors to sell a 1.5% stake after lukewarm interest from abroad.
Trading is expected to happen on the Saudi Tadawul stock exchange as early as December 11.
The company is selling 0.5% to individuals who are Saudi citizens and residents and 1% to institutional investors, which can be sovereign wealth funds, asset managers or government-run pension programs.
And the total could go higher. The company said underwriters could decide to sell an additional quantity of shares that would raise the proceeds to $29.4bn.
The IPO will establish Aramco as one of the world's most valuable companies, but the $1.7trn figure falls short of the Saudi royal family's hopes of an offering that valued the company at close to $2trn.
International institutions baulked at the firm's $1.7rtn valuation, prompting Aramco to pull marketing roadshows in New York and London.
Instead, it focused its marketing efforts on Saudi investors and wealthy Gulf Arab allies. Saudi banks also offered citizens cheap credit to bid for the shares following a nationwide advertising campaign.
The company's financial advisers had said earlier that most orders came from Saudi funds or companies, with foreign investors, including from neighboring Persian Gulf Arab states, accounting for 10.5% of the bids
The share sale is at the heart of crown prince Mohammed bin Salman's plans to modernise the Saudi economy and wean it off its dependence on oil.
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