PIF-backed Oil and Gas Driller ADES Expected to Price IPO at Top of Range

Oil and gas driller ADES Holding is expected to price its initial public offering (IPO) at the top of a range announced this week, one of the banks on the deal said on Thursday.

The company backed by Saudi Arabia's PIF sovereign wealth fund is expected to price its shares at 13.50 riyals ($3.60), the bank said in a message to investors seen by Reuters.

ADES is set to raise as much as 4.57 billion riyals ($1.22 billion) from the sale of a 30% stake in the company through the public share sale. 

It began marketing the IPO on Sunday, seeking 12.50 riyals to 13.50 riyals a share. 

Reuters reported in November that the planned IPO could fetch more than $1 billion, citing sources close to the matter.

Headquartered in the Saudi Arabian city of Khobar, ADES operates a fleet of offshore and onshore rigs across the Middle East, North Africa, and India.

ADES, which counts Saudi Aramco, Kuwait Oil Co, and North Oil Company in Qatar among its clients, said on Aug. 28 that it would list on the Saudi Exchange through the sale of existing and new shares.

Selling shareholders PIF, ADES Investments Holdings and Zamil Group Investment will sell a combined 101,615,626 existing shares in proportion to their shareholdings. ADES will also issue 237,103,128 new shares.

ADES listed in London in 2017. PIF partnered with ADES shareholders ADES Investments Holding and Zamil Group Investment to take the company private in 2021.

($1 = 3.7508 riyals) 

 (Reuters - Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh and Pablo Mayo CerqueiroEditing by David Goodman)

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