Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering has once more been delayed due to concerns about its valuation, which Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman places at $2trn.
Bloomberg reported that the delay would last at least a few weeks, allowing Saudi Aramco’s Q3 results to be included into pre-IPO assessments by the banks advising Aramco. An anonymous source close to the matter told Bloomberg that the banks are facing challenges to meet a $2trn valuation.
The share sale was strategically planned to directly pre-empt the Future Investment Initiative, informally known as Davos in the Desert, where Aramco could promote it, to be followed by the IPO in November.Â
The company will list a small percentage of the company on the Saudi exchange, with Bloomberg reporting that around 2 percent would be sold, raising $40bn and easily surpassing Alibaba Group Holding’s $25bn listing as the world’s largest IPO.
