Saudi Arabia’s Rawabi Energy Company, part of Rawabi Holdings, is looking to raise up to $500 million ahead of a potential initial public offering in the Saudi market later this year that could value the company at nearly $1 billion, sources told Bloomberg. Al Arabiya.net reviewed it.
The sources said the company, which includes the Rawabi oilfield services unit, is working with investment bank Evercore on pre-IPO financing and is in talks with potential backers.
Two sources said that Rawabi Energy is also in discussions with banks to appoint financial advisors to sell the shares.
This comes as Saudi companies raised nearly $9.3 billion through IPOs in the stock market last year, making Riyadh one of the most active IPO markets in the Middle East and Africa, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
While the Saudi market index was one of the top 5 performing markets in the world this year, backed in large part by the rise in oil prices.
This has attracted a large number of IPOs to the stock market, with Tadawul Saudi CEO Khaled Al-Hussan saying earlier this year that more than 70 companies had applied for their shares.
