According to media reports, Aramco from Saudi Arabia is thinking about selling $50 billion worth of shares. Just a year earlier, the Saudi company had the same plan of selling $50 billion worth of shares but didn't go ahead.
At that time, Aramco cited the non-favorable market conditions as the main reason behind this move. Now that the company has expressed the same plan, it appears that the market conditions are finally favorable for Aramco.
However, the country has decided not to float any new offerings related to Aramco on the stock exchange. This will allow Saudi Arabia to avoid any legal or other risk since the company is already listed internationally.
At this stage, all of this is still a plan, and we are only hearing it from the media sources. So unless it is officially announced, we can't say anything with certainty. When Aramco was contacted for comments about the development, they decided not to immediately respond.
As per the media reports, the sale of Aramco shares will likely occur before the end of 2023. In addition, Aramco company has already contacted several potential investors, including sovereign wealth funds and international oil companies.
Given the nature of the company's business and its share in the global market supply, it makes sense for Aramco to attract a lot of attention. So, it shouldn't be too hard for Aramco to sell all of the shares worth $50 billion as the company still continues to enjoy dominant market share.
However, this move by Aramco would mean that Saudi Arabia will end up having less ownership of the company. At the same time, it would allow international investors to have a stake in Aramco and thus may invite some changes as well.
Yet, it still remains to be seen whether this plan will actually turn into reality this year or we will get a repeat of the year 2022.