Saudi Aramco raised $25.6 billion from the world’s biggest initial public offering, closing a deal that became synonymous with the kingdom’s controversial crown prince and his plans to reshape the oil-rich nation.
The state-owned oil giant set the final price of its shares at 32 riyals ($8.53), valuing the world’s most profitable company at $1.7 trillion. It received total bids of $119 billion.
Aramco offered just 1.5 per cent of its shares and opted for a local listing after global investors balked at its hopes of valuing the company at $2 trillion.
Instead, Aramco relied heavily on local investors and funds from neighbouring Gulf Arab monarchies. In the offering for individuals, almost 5 million people applied for shares.
The institutional tranche closed on Wednesday and attracted bids totalling 397 billion riyals.
Still, Aramco will become the world’s most valuable publicly traded company once it starts trading, overtaking Microsoft Corp and Apple Inc.
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