ADNOC may offer 20% stake, raise up to $2.8 billion

DUBAI/ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) said on Monday it may sell as much as a 20 percent stake in its fuel distribution unit, potentially raising up to $2.8 billion.
Analysts have valued the total fuel distribution unit at between $11 and $14 billion in research reports prepared by banks advising the firm on the planned listing, sources have told Reuters.
Abu Dhabi is pushing its state companies to list on the bourse, hoping to lure foreign investors with privatizations after lower energy prices depleted its coffers.
The companies are aiming to complete some of their listings before Saudi Arabia’s IPO of its crown jewel Saudi Aramco in late 2018, as part of a wider multi-billion dollar privatization program, bankers say.
State fund Mubadala Investment Co. said last month it expects to list its unit Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), one of the world’s biggest aluminum producers, next year.
ADNOC is offering a minimum 10 percent stake, or 1.25 billion shares, and a maximum 20 percent stake, or 2.5 billion shares, in the IPO of ADNOC Distribution, it said in a filing.
A larger float may help ADNOC’s distribution unit become part of the MSCI emerging market index, attracting more foreign fund flows, said one source familiar with the matter.
Abu Dhabi’s national oil company last week unveiled details of ADNOC Distribution’s listing, as Gulf states step up plans to privatise energy assets in an era of cheap oil.
The ADNOC unit’s float comes as Saudi Arabia plans to list 5 percent of its national oil company Aramco by the end of next year, which Saudi officials say could raise $100 billion, making it the world’s biggest IPO.
Citigroup, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are joint global coordinators for the ADNOC unit’s offer and also bookrunners alongside EFG Hermes, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.