By Yousef Saba
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi oil giant Aramco’s base oil subsidiary Luberef expects to raise up to 4.95 billion riyals ($1.32 billion) from its initial public offering, it said, if it prices at the top of a range announced on Sunday.
Luberef will sell nearly 30% of the company’s issued share capital, or 50.045 million shares, at between 91 and 99 riyals each, the company said in a statement.
State-led IPO programmes in Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have helped equity capital markets in the oil-rich Gulf, in sharp contrast to the United States and Europe, where global banks have been trimming headcount in a dealmaking drought.
Gulf issuers have raised about $16 billion through such listings this year, accounting for about half of total IPO proceeds from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Refinitiv data shows.
A minimum of 75% of the Luberef shares being sold will be offered to institutional investors, with bookbuilding getting underway on Sunday and running until Friday.
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The final share price will be announced next Sunday, with subscriptions for individual investors running from Dec. 14 to Dec. 18. A date has not yet been set for shares to begin trading on Riyadh’s Tadawul exchange.
Aramco owns 70% of Luberef and Saudi investment bank Jadwa Investment the remaining 30%.
Saudi Aramco’s record listing in late 2019, later boosted to total $29.4 billion in proceeds, was the world’s largest IPO.
Aramco, which has raised billions from deals linked to its pipeline infrastructure, is also planning an IPO of its energy-trading business.
The kingdom’s privatisation programme is a cornerstone of its Vision 2030 economic agenda to wean the economy off oil, build new industries and create jobs.
($1 = 3.7585 riyals)
(Reporting by Yousef Saba; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)