Saudi oil driller hires Goldman, HSBC, SNB Capital for local IPO

Arabian Drilling, a Saudi oilfield-services firm partly held by Schlumberger, hired Goldman Sachs, HSBC Holdings and SNB Capital to manage its initial public offering in Riyadh.

The firm will sell 26.7 million shares, or a 30 per cent stake, according to a statement, adding to a queue of companies planning to IPO on the Middle East’s biggest stock market. The offer price will be determined following a book-building period from September 28 to October 5.

About a third of the IPO will be new shares, and the proceeds will be used to scale up onshore and offshore fleet and expand operations in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, it said.

Arabian Drilling operates 45 rigs and had revenue of $586m last year. It also has an order backlog of $2.2bn.

Investor appetite for Saudi listings remains strong, though a rally in Middle Eastern equities has faded over the past few months as fears of recessions gripped global markets.

Arabian Drilling could be valued at more than $1.4bn, people familiar told Bloomberg in April. The company was founded in 1964 and counts Saudi Aramco, the kingdom’s state energy producer, among its main customers.

Saudi Arabia’s Industrialization & Energy Services Co., a firm which is majority controlled by Saudi wealth fund the Public Investment Fund, owns 51 per cent of Arabian Drilling. Services Petroliers Schlumberger owns the rest.