Aramco Refining Unit Plans Billion-Dollar IPO

• Saudi Aramco’s refining unit Luberef is looking to go public.
• The company has hired major international banks to manage the listing. 
• The offering on the Saudi stock market could raise as much as $1 billion.

Luberef, a refining unit of Saudi oil giant Aramco has hired major international banks to manage its imminent initial public offering on the Saudi stock market that could raise around $1 billion, Bloomberg reports.

Banks, including Citigroup and HSBC Holdings Plc, will lead the share sale, which Luberef announced in a statement this weekend.  

SNB Capital, HSBC, Citi, and Morgan Stanley are listed in Luberef’s announcement as joint financial advisors, bookrunners, global coordinators, and underwriters of the IPO process.

Luberef received last week an approval from the Saudi market regulator to proceed with an initial public offering, the Capital Market Authority said.

Saudi Aramco Base Oil Company (Luberef) announced on Sunday its intention to offer 29.66% of its share capital to the public through an initial public offering (IPO) and list its shares on the Main Market of the Saudi Exchange, Tadawul. 

All 50,045,000 ordinary shares will be offered to individual and institutional investors, Luberef said.

According to the company, the announcement of the price range and institutional book building process is expected to take place between December 4 and 9. The final price announcement and the final prospectus are expected on December 11. All the necessary steps in the share sale are set to be completed by December 28. The date of the start of trading will be announced at a later stage. 

Luberef generated revenues of the equivalent of $2.359 billion in 2021, the company says on its website.

“Luberef’s IPO supports its growth ambitions, will strengthen its already competitive business and unlock new opportunities for its stakeholders. Since its establishment, Luberef has built a robust reputation for delivering high-quality base oil products in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and beyond, while creating value for all its stakeholders,” President and CEO Tareq Abdulaziz Alnuaim said in a statement.  

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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