Arabian Drilling Co., a Saudi oilfield services company partially owned by Schlumberger NV, recruited Goldman Sachs, HSBC Holdings Plc, and SNB Capital to arrange its initial public offering in Riyadh.
The firm will sell 26.7 million shares, or a 30 percent 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 5 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 region, it said.
Arabian Drilling operates 45 rigs and had revenue of $586 million last year. It also has an order backlog of $2.2 billion.
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 $1.4 billion, 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.
Arabian Drilling is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Industrialization & Energy Services Co., a company that is majorlly governed by the Public Investment Fund, a Saudi sovereign wealth fund. Schlumberger owns the rest, including Services Petroliers.
