Saudi Aramco said to pick Moelis to advise on biggest IPO

09/02/2017 05:44 AST

Saudi Arabian Oil Co. hired Moelis & Co. to advise on its initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter, as it pushes ahead with plans to pursue the world's biggest share sale.

The New York-based boutique investment bank had been shortlisted along with Evercore Partners Inc. as a potential adviser for the deal, people familiar with the matter said last month. Aramco, as the company is known, was seeking a bank to help it select underwriters for the sale, make decisions on potential listing venues and ensure the IPO goes smoothly, the people said at the time.

The mandate is a coup for Moelis, a boutique firm founded in 2007 by former UBS Group AG dealmaker Ken Moelis. While the bank has advised on other large deals in the Middle East, such as the $25 billion debt restructuring of Dubai World LLC, this listing is its biggest ever role.

The IPO, which is predicted to raise about $100 billion, may yield millions of dollars in fees and push Moelis up in global investment bank rankings. The company ranked 28th in mergers and acquisitions announced last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Representatives for Moelis and Aramco declined to comment. The Financial Times had previously reported that Moelis won the advisory role.

Record IPO

Saudi Arabia is aiming to sell less than 5 per cent of the company as part of a plan by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman to set up the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund and reduce the economy's reliance on hydrocarbons. The IPO would be the largest ever, dwarfing the $25 billion raised by Chinese internet retailer Alibaba Group Holding Ltd in 2014.

Aramco also recently asked banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and HSBC Holdings Plc to pitch for advisory roles, people familiar with the matter said last month. The company plans to finish selecting banks later this year ahead of a listing in the second or third quarter of 2018, two of the people said.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Michael Klein, the former Citigroup Inc. investment banker who runs his own advisory firm, have already been selected to work on the IPO, people familiar with the matter said in April. Klein is providing strategic advice to the government, while JPMorgan is working on preparations for the IPO and may be among the banks that underwrite the listing, the people said.

Moelis shares rose 0.3 per cent to $35 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, giving the company a market value of about $2.1 billion. The investment bank went public in 2014.

Gulfnews