Saudi Aramco Base Oil Company (Luberef) has appointed NCB Capital as bookrunner and the Saudi units of HSBC, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley as financial advisors, institutional bookrunners and international coordinators to list its shares on the Riyadh Stock Exchange.
Luberev announced on Sunday in a statement to the Saudi Stock Exchange its intention to proceed with an initial public offering (IPO) and list its ordinary shares on the main market of Tadawul.
Chairman of Luberef Ibrahim Al-Buainain predicted that the listing of the company's shares on the Saudi Stock Exchange will contribute to its growth strategy as a major provider of base oils and specialty products.
On November 24, 2022, the CMA approved Luberef's request to offer about 50 million shares, representing 29.6% of the company's capital, through the sale of existing shares owned by Jadwa Industrial Investment Company, which acquired the stake from Escon Mobil in 2007.
Tariq Al-Naeem, President and CEO of Luberef, said the company "will continue to focus on growth in key end markets, especially those where changing factors provide promising future opportunities for demand."
Middle East IPOs have raised $16.4 billion this year and are on track for their best IPO year since 2019, when Saudi Aramco raised $29.4 billion, according to Bloomberg data, which shows that of the 33 IPOs in the Gulf this year, 22 were on the Saudi stock market.
Luberef, which will still own 70% of the shares as it will not sell any shares, said that the announcement of the final price of the offer shares will take place after the end of the book-building period.
