Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant Aramco announced Sunday it will sell a 1.5% stake in the company as it looks to raise as much as $25.6 billion (Ksh2.6 trillion) from the sale.
The newly released figures also revealed a valuation for the company that’s between $1.6 trillion (sh164 trillion) and $1.7 trillion (sh175 trillion), a figure that fell short of the $2 trillion mark crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman had sought.
Still, 1.5 % floatation could raise between $24 billion (Ksh2.4 trillion) and $25.6 billion (Ksh2.6 trillion) to help fuel the Saudi economy. Saudi Aramco announced it will have 200 billion regular shares, selling 1.5% or what is three billion shares.
Aramco set a stock price range of 30 to 32 Saudi Riyals, or $8 (sh824) to $8.50 (Ksh875) a share for investors. The company is selling 0.5% to individual investors, which will include Saudi citizens, residents of Saudi Arabia and Gulf Arab Nationals, and 1% to institutional investors, which could include major Chinese and Russian buyers.
Aramco will announce the final price for the stock when the book-building period ends on December 5. Trading on the local Tadawul exchange in Riyadh is expected to happen sometime in mid-December. The highly anticipated sale of a sliver of the company has been generating global buzz.
