Saudi PIF-backed oil, gas driller ADES to proceed with IPO plan

Oil and gas driller ADES Holding, backed by Saudi Arabia’s so-ereign wealth fund, on Monday announced plans to proceed with an initial public offering (IPO) on the Saudi Exchange.

ADES said the public share sale comprises of 338.7 million ordinary shares, resulting in a free float of 30 percent after the sale of a mix of existing and newly issued shares.

The price range will be announced September 18 and the final offer price will be announced after a book-building process.

The planned IPO could fetch more than $1 billion, Reuters reported last November citing two sources familiar with the matter.

ADES International listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2017. In 2021, the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) partnered with the firm’s major shareholders ADES Investments Holding and Zamil Group Investment Co to take it private.

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

“Since inception, ADES has grown from a local driller operating predominantly in North Africa to one of the largest drilling opera-tors in the Middle East and North Africa region with a fleet of 85 rigs and operations spanning seven countries,” ADES Chairman Ayman Abbas said in the statement.

“Our IPO will support us in continuing to deliver growth and ce-ment our position as the leader in the jack-up drilling market in Saudi Arabia and globally,” Abbas was quoted as saying.

ADES counts state oil giant Saudi Aramco and Kuwait Oil Co as its clients, as well as joint ventures with global majors including BP and Eni, according to information on its website.

Selling shareholders PIF, ADES Investments Holdings and Zamil Group Investments will collectively sell 101,615,626 existing shares in proportion to their shareholding, according to the state-ment on Monday.

Furthermore, 237,103,128 new shares will be issued, it said.