Saudi Aramco is considering selling a 2.5% stake in the company worth $50 billion, the Wall Street Journal is reporting.
Mohammed Bin Salman, crown prince of Saudi Arabia, is said to be pushing the secondary share sale of the company and aiming to complete the deal by year-end.
The WSJ said Aramco has been “sounding out” potential investors, such as other multinational oil companies and sovereign wealth funds, about participating in the deal.
The kingdom is said to have decided to host the offering on the Riyadh Stock Exchange to avoid legal risks associated with an international listing, the report said, citing Saudi officials and other people familiar with the plan.
The WSJ said Saudi Arabia had planned to sell Aramco shares worth up to $50 billion last year, but decided that market conditions were unfavourable.
Saudi Aramco is said to be the world’s biggest oil company, with a market value of $2.25 trillion.
In 2019, the company executed the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history, raising $25.6 billion, and then sold additional shares to increase the total to $29.4 billion.
In 2022, Saudi Aramco reported a record net profit of $161.1 billion — its highest annual profit as a listed company.