Petrochemical firm SABIC announced that Saudi Aramco has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire a 70 per cent majority stake in SABIC from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia in a private transaction
The agreed purchase price for the shares is US$69.1bn.
The remaining 30 per cent publicly traded shares in SABIC are not part of the transaction, and Saudi Aramco has no plans to acquire these remaining shares. The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan, managing director at Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, said, “This is a win-win-win transaction and a transformational deal for three of Saudi Arabia’s most important economic entities. It will unlock significant capital for PIF’s continued long-term investment strategy, underpinning sectoral and revenue diversification for Saudi Arabia.”
“Furthermore, it will introduce a strategic owner that can add considerable value to SABIC and all its shareholders, while capitalising on SABIC’s strong capabilities to unlock the opportunities for growth that Saudi Aramco, a key player in energy markets around the world, can offer,” he added.
Amin Nasser, president and CEO, Saudi Aramco, commented, “This transaction is a major step in accelerating Saudi Aramco’s transformative downstream growth strategy of integrated refining and petrochemicals. SABIC is a world-class company with an outstanding workforce and chemicals capabilities.”
“As part of the Saudi Aramco family of companies, together we will create a stronger, more robust business to enhance competitiveness and help meet rising demand for energy and chemicals products needed by our customers around the world,” he noted.
Abdulaziz Al-Judaimi, senior vice-president of downstream at Saudi Aramco, stated, “Saudi Aramco’s downstream strategy is focused on meeting global customer needs by securing outlets for our crude oil through the expansion and growth of our refining system and deepening its integration with petrochemicals production.
“We are pursuing partnerships and acquisitions where we create long-term value and developing groundbreaking crude-oil-to-chemicals technologies. SABIC is a good strategic fit and a solid platform to support our continued investment for future growth in petrochemicals–the fastest growing sector of oil demand,” he concluded.
