Aramco shares surge following secondary offering

Saudi Aramco’s shares opened higher on June 9, the first trading day after a secondary share offering expected to raise around $11.2 billion. 

The shares commenced trading at SR27.95 ($7.45) each, after concluding the prior session on June 6 at SR28.3, subsequently reaching SR28.35 by 10:30 am Saudi time. The final price for the secondary share sale was set at SR27.25, toward the lower end of the specified price range. 

This comes as the company’s allocation to international investors reached 0.73 percent of total shares following the completion of the new issue. 

The oil giant stated that after the final allocation of the fully marketed offering, most shares in the institutional tranche were assigned to investors outside the Kingdom. 

In addition to the international allocation, Saudi Aramco has allocated 0.89 percent of its total shares to domestic institutional investors and 0.76 percent to retail investors. 

“The majority of the shares constituting the institutional tranche of the offering was allocated to investors located outside of the Kingdom,” the company said in a statement. 

Aramco’s latest share offering saw close to 60 percent allocated to international investors.

In a press release, Aramco said that institutional investors, both international and domestic, include entities that have acquired shares through the initial public offering, or open market purchases since then. 

Retail investors consist of individual investors, including high-net-worth individuals, who have similarly purchased shares through the IPO, or open market transactions. 

The statement further disclosed that approximately 97.62 percent of the issued shares are held by other shareholders, including the Saudi government. 

Aramco said the move aligns with its strategic vision to become the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals company.  

It aims to strengthen its global position by maintaining its oil production, expanding its gas production capacity, and integrating its upstream and downstream operations to secure demand for its crude oil.  

The company said it is enhancing the resilience and strategic integration of its refining and chemicals portfolios to capture more value across the hydrocarbon value chain and improve the balance of its fuels and chemicals production.