The Saudi authorities have decided to sell part of the shares of Saudi Aramco, the largest and most expensive oil company in the world, Report informs citing The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
According to the paper, the management of Saudi Aramco, 98.5% owned by the state, is actively exploring the option of a secondary public offering (SPO) – local or one of the foreign ones. Among the latter, the London or Singapore exchanges are being examined.
It is expected that 2.5% of the shares may be released for free float, the total value of which is estimated at $50 billion. If the transaction is successfully completed, the funds will go to the state and will be directed to the budget, which is expected to contribute to the diversification of the country’s economy, to which the authorities have been striving over the recent years.
At the end of 2019, Saudi Aramco listed its shares on the Riyadh stock exchange. At that time, 1.5% of the already existing shares, owned by the state, were sold. The budget managed to raise $29.4 billion, the largest placement in history at the time. The current deal is expected to beat that result if it goes through.
At the end of December 2019, an initial public offering (IPO) of Saudi Aramco was held. With the capitalization of the largest oil and gas company in the world at $1.7 trillion, 1.5% of the shares were sold for $25.6 billion.
