Saudi Arabia in talks to sell 1% of Aramco to 'leading global energy firm'
Saudi Arabia is in discussions to sell 1% of state-backed oil giant Saudi Aramco to a “leading global energy company,” the kingdom’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, said on a Saudi-owned news channel this week.
According to the translation from CNBC, he said: “I don’t want to give any promises, but there’s a discussion for the acquisition of a 1% stake by a leading global energy company.”
“That will be a great deal to enhance the sales of Aramco in the country where this company (is based),” he added. The prince did not name the company but said it is from a “huge” country.
He also said there are discussions with other firms, and some Aramco shares could be transferred to the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund. Some shares may be listed on the Saudi market as well.
Saudi Aramco, which was the world’s biggest IPO when it went public in December 2019, only listed around 1.5% of its shares on the local stock exchange at the time.
The initial public listing raised $25.6bn, and the company added its “greenshoe option” to sell 450m more shares, bringing the total size to $29.4bn.
The Saudi government owns more than 98% of Aramco’s shares.