LONDON — Saudi Arabia is poised to raise more than $11.2 billion by selling shares in Aramco to help fund the government’s spending plans, despite the state-run firm pricing the stock at the lower end of expectations, the world’s largest oil company said Friday.
The pricing follows a week-long roadshow in London and New York led by Aramco Chief Executive Amin Nasser. Aramco also targeted Asian investors, encouraging them to buy into the deal.
Aramco had set a price range of its shares between 26.7 and 29.0 riyals ($7.12 and $7.73) but said on Friday it ended up pricing them at 27.25 riyals ($7.27).
A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that the offering was four to five times oversubscribed. Two other sources told the newswire that international demand was higher than it was for Aramco’s 2019 initial public offering (IPO) and included interest from China and elsewhere in Asia and Europe, another person said.
