Saudi Arabia prices Aramco stock at $7.27 in $11.2bn share sale

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is set to raise over $11.2 billion by selling shares in oil giant Aramco to fund its spending plans, after pricing its stock at SR27.25 ($7.27), the company announced.

In a press release, Aramco said that the secondary public offering of 1.545 billion shares, representing approximately 0.64 percent of the company’s issued shares. The final offer price for both institutional and retail investors was set at SR27.25 per share, based on the book-building process results.

The company stated that all shares offered to retail investors would be allocated with a minimum of 10 shares per subscriber, with the remaining shares distributed on a pro-rata basis at an average allocation factor of about 25.13 percent.

The retail offering was fully subscribed, attracting 1,331,915 subscribers. Consequently, 10 percent of the offer shares, excluding shares issued pursuant to the over-allotment option, will be allocated to retail investors, with the remaining 90 percent going to institutional investors, it added.

To cover short positions resulting from any over-allotments, the government has granted the stabilizing manager a “greenshoe” option, allowing the purchase of up to 10 percent of the offer shares at the final offer price. 

The company added that this over-allotment option is exercisable in whole or in part until 30 calendar days after trading of the offer shares on the Saudi Exchange begins, expected on June 9, and will cease on July 9.

If the over-allotment option is fully exercised, the offering will comprise approximately 0.70 percent of the company’s issued shares.

Aramco aims to strengthen its global position by maintaining its oil production, expanding its gas production capacity, and integrating its upstream and downstream operations to secure demand for its crude oil. 

The company said it is enhancing the resilience and strategic integration of its refining and chemicals portfolios to capture more value across the hydrocarbon value chain and improve the balance of its fuels and chemicals production.