Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, ADES Investments Holding Ltd. and Zamil Group Investment Ltd. plan to sell shares in oil and gas driller Ades International Holding in a local initial public offering, set to be one of the kingdom’s biggest this year.
The offering will consist of 338.7 million shares, or a 30% stake in the company, which will include the issuance of 237.1 million new shares through a capital increase, according to a statement on Monday. The final offer price will be announced on Sept. 18 after a book-building process.
The IPO could raise about $1 billion, Bloomberg has reported.
The Public Investment Fund teamed up with the major owners of Ades to take the business private in 2021, in a deal valuing the company at about $516 million. Ades, which provides oil-and-gas drilling and production services in the Middle East and North Africa, has since grown through acquisitions.
The company had initially planned to go public in the first half of the year but decided to hold off for a suitable time, Bloomberg reported in May.
Usually one of the Persian Gulf’s biggest and busiest listings markets, Saudi Arabia has had a relatively slow start to the year. Less than $900 million has been raised through listings in the kingdom this year, an 82% drop from a year ago, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
The outlook for stocks has brightened with a 14% rally in the benchmark Tadawul index since March lows after earnings and relatively stable oil prices boosted optimism.
In the neighboring United Arab Emirates, there have been almost $4 billion worth of listings, according to the data.
EFG Hermes, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Saudi National Bank Capital are working on IPO.
(Corrects date of final offer price in second paragraph.)
