Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC), the state-owned oil giant, announced on Thursday that it has set a pricing range for the initial public offering (IPO) of its gas subsidiary, which has the potential to raise up to $2 billion and value ADNOC Gas’ stock at between $47 billion and $50.8 billion.
This is the largest initial public offering of the year. Each of the 3.07 billion shares, representing a 4% ownership in ADNOC Gas, is being offered for sale for between AED2.25 and AED2.43. At the top of the range, the company’s worth will be $50.8 billion, making it one of the largest publicly traded gas companies in the world and roughly comparable to Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Eni SpA.
As cornerstone investors, many funds, the majority of them tied to the Abu Dhabi government, have invested $850 million. At the upper end of the range, the IPO will be the largest ever in Abu Dhabi. It is the most recent in a string of stock offerings in the area as governments try to finance a move away from fossil fuels and attract more foreign investors to their markets.
This endeavour, along with rising oil and gas prices, assisted the UAE and Saudi Arabia in 2022 in bucking a global IPO slump. Only $1.67 billion has been raised through IPOs in the entire region of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa so far this year, according to data gathered by Bloomberg.
The largest power generator in the UAE, Taqa, which is situated in Abu Dhabi, received 5% of ADNOC Gas prior to the IPO. Over the past two years, ADNOC has listed petrochemical company Borouge, fertilisers and clean ammonia products maker Fertiglobe, and ADNOC Drilling.
