Saudi Arabia Aramco IPO reportedly called off

Saudi
Arabia Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends the G20
opening ceremony at the Hangzhou International Expo Center on
September 4, 2016 in Hangzhou, China.
Nicolas Asfouri – Pool/Getty Images

• Saudi Arabia has reportedly called off plans to take
  state oil company Aramco public.
• The initial public offering would have been the largest
  deal in history. 
• The decision was made “some time ago,” one Saudi source
  told Reuters.

Saudi Arabia has reportedly called off plans to take its
state-owned oil giant public in what would have been the largest
initial public offering in history.

Reuters reports Saudi Arabia decided it will not move forward
with plans for a domestic or international Aramco stock listing,
according to four senior industry
sources, and that advisers who had been working on the
deal have been disbanded.

“The decision to call off the IPO was taken some time ago, but
no-one can disclose this, so statements are gradually going that
way – first delay then calling off,” a Saudi source familiar with
the IPO plans told Reuters.

Officials at Aramco, also known as the Saudi Arabian Oil
Company, did not immediately respond to emails requesting
comment. 

As part of broader government efforts to reduce state dependence
on the oil industry and diversify the economy, Saudi Crown Price
Mohammed bin Salman first
announced plans to take Aramco public in 2016.

While roughly 5% of the shares would be sold, the size of Aramco
had it billed as one of the largest IPO’s in history. Its
estimated valuation was roughly $2 trillion, though
some investors had been skeptical of that. 

Part of the funds Saudi Arabia would have earned were slated to
go toward a sovereign wealth fund that could be invested abroad.
Earlier this month, Tesla CEO Elon Musk indicated the
sovereign wealth fund could potentially fund a go-private
plan for the company.

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