Saudi-backed ADES Holding begins marketing IPO to institutional investors

Oil and gas driller ADES Holding, backed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, began marketing its initial public offering on Sunday, seeking 12.50 riyals ($3.33) to 13.50 riyals a share.

ADES plans to raise as much as 4.57 billion Saudi riyals ($1.22 billion) from the sale of a 30 per cent stake in the company through its public-share sale, according to a notification to investors on Sunday.

Reuters reported in November that the planned IPO could fetch more than $1 billion, citing two people familiar with the matter.

The institutional book-building process will end on September 14. The final price for the shares will be set at the end of the book-building period.

Headquartered in the Saudi Arabian city of Khobar, ADES operates a fleet of offshore and onshore rigs across the Middle East, North Africa and India.

ADES, which counts Saudi Aramco, Kuwait Oil Co and North Oil Company in Qatar as key clients, announced on August 28 its planned flotation on the Saudi Exchange through the sale of existing and new shares.

That deal valued ADES at $516 million at the time.