Saudi Arabia surpasses initial revenue projections by USD1B

(MENAFN) Saudi Arabia has surpassed initial revenue projections by USD1 billion from the recent sale of a stake in its oil giant, Aramco, following the conclusion of the company's stabilization period. According to an official announcement, the Saudi government has garnered total revenues amounting to USD12.35 billion from the secondary sale.

Last month, the government sold a 0.64 percent stake in Aramco at 27.25 riyals per share. Additionally, an option was granted to stabilizing manager Merrill Lynch to repurchase an additional 154 million shares and return them to the government if the share price fell below the offering price.

In a statement, Merrill Lynch Saudi Arabia disclosed the end of the stabilization period and its decision to exercise the option to purchase the additional 154 million shares at the offering price of 27.25 riyals per share. Notably, Merrill Lynch did not conduct any price stabilization operations during the specified period.

The total offering size, post-exercise of the purchase option, stands at 1.699 billion ordinary shares, amounting to a total value of 46.31 billion riyals (equivalent to USD12.35 billion). This successful transaction concludes years of efforts by Saudi Arabia to sell an additional stake in Aramco, one of the world's largest companies by market value, following its record-breaking initial public offering in 2019.

The stabilization period spanned 30 days after the conclusion of the share sale, during which no price-stabilizing activities were implemented. Aramco had previously estimated the offering to raise at least USD11.2 billion, with the final size contingent on Merrill Lynch's repurchase activities during the stabilization period. 

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