DUBAI: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and its Austrian chemicals partner Borealis have invited banks to pitch for bookrunner roles in the listing of their plastics joint venture Borouge, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
State-owned ADNOC and Borealis invited a handful of local and regional banks to take part in the initial public offering, the sources said, declining to be named as the matter is not public.
ADNOC, which supplies nearly 3 percent of global oil demand, declined to comment.
Borealis, which is owned by Austrian refiner OMV and Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment Company, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Global coordinator roles were mandated to Citi, HSBC , Morgan Stanley and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) earlier this year, the sources said.
US investment bank Goldman Sachs is also seeking a role in the syndicate, they added.
HSBC and FAB did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Goldman Sachs, Citi and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.
Borouge is a manufacturer of plastics used in cars and food packaging, among many things.
It employs 3,000 people and has customers in more than 100 countries across the Middle East, Asia and Africa, according to its website. It’s main plant is in Abu Dhabi, with a marketing and sales office in Singapore.
ADNOC and Borealis said last month they were considering a potential IPO of Borouge.
Abu Dhabi’s main equity index has risen about 13 percent this year amid an IPO boom.
ADNOC Chief Executive Sultan Al-Jaber has overseen a transformation strategy the company embarked on more than four years ago, building an investment team to monetise assets and raise funds from international private equity groups.
Last year ADNOC listed its drilling business in Abu Dhabi’s largest IPO to date. Fertiglobe, a joint venture between ADNOC and chemical producer OCI, also made its market debut last year, and ADNOC floated shares in its distribution business in 2017.
