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Saudi driller Ades expects pricing IPO at top of range

By Pramod Kumar
Headquartered in Khobar, Ades operates a fleet of offshore and onshore rigs across the Middle East, North Africa and India Reuters/Nick Oxford
Headquartered in Khobar, Ades operates a fleet of offshore and onshore rigs across the Middle East, North Africa and India

Oil and gas driller Ades Holding is likely to price its initial public offering (IPO) at the top of the range, according to a media report.

The company, backed by the Saudi sovereign Public Investment Fund, is expected to price its shares at SAR13.50 ($3.60), raising SAR4.57 billion ($1.22 billion), Reuters reported citing a bank’s message to investors.

The company set its share price range between SAR12.50 and SAR13.50.

The share sale comprises 338.72 million ordinary shares, resulting in a free float of 30 percent after the sale of a mix of existing and newly issued shares through a capital increase.

The institutional book-building process started on September 10 and closed on September 14. Subscription for the retail tranche will start from September 26 to 28.

Saudi auto rental company Lumi priced its IPO at the top of the range last week, giving it a valuation of SAR3.63 billion.

Headquartered in Khobar, Ades operates a fleet of offshore and onshore rigs across the Middle East, North Africa and India. Its key clients are Saudi Aramco, Kuwait Oil Company and North Oil Company in Qatar.

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

Ades operates across the Arab region, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia. Operations in India will start in 2023 on the back of already awarded contracts.

The company has an aggregate fleet of 85 rigs in seven countries, including three rigs in India, 36 onshore drilling rigs, 46 jackup offshore drilling rigs, two jackup barges and one mobile offshore production unit.

The oil and gas driller reported SAR1.98 billion in total revenue from customer contracts in the first half of 2023 and has a total backlog of SAR27.6 billion as of June 30, 2023.

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