The world’s largest IPO completed in record time: Samba Cap

Samba Capital, the lead manager, joint financial advisor, joint global coordinator, joint underwriter and joint bookrunner in the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Saudi Aramco, announced the completion of the world’s largest share sale in record time.

“The management of the IPO process was carried out according to global best practices and the highest levels of professional standards. This was achieved in record time when compared to the experience of global markets,” Samba Capital said in a statement.

Shares of Saudi Aramco will start trading tomorrow, Dec. 11 in the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).

The issue was oversubscribed with aggregate subscriptions amounting to SAR 446 billion representing coverage of 465%.

Extending the period specified for the opening orders upon listing the company's shares in Tadawul for an additional period of 30 minutes, as is the practice in most global markets, would help determine the price in a more effective way by allowing additional time for market dealers to place buy and sell orders.

The move would positively impact on the opening price, it added.

Additionally, the allocated shares for more than 5 million individual retail subscribers had been deposited in their portfolios less than 18 hours after the announcement of the final price.

The listing and trading of the company’s shares on Tadawul will start just four working days after the end of the subscription phase following the refund of the surplus subscription monies for individual retail subscribers on Dec. 6.

This timeframe is shorter than even the global markets standard.

The number of individual subscribers was 5.056 million, with a total subscription value of SAR 49.2 billion.

Saudi subscribers were allocated 96.6% of the retail offering and non-Saudis (expatriates and GCC nationals) 3.4%.

The mechanics of the share allocation process for the retail tranche was based on the allocation of up to 1,500 shares for every subscriber, which represented 97.5% of the total number of individual subscribers, with the remaining shares allocated on a pro rata basis at 10.941%.

For the institutional tranche, the final value of subscriptions totaled SAR 397 billion, an oversubscription ratio of 620% of the 2 billion shares offered in the institutional tranche amounting to SAR 64 billion (assuming no exercise of the purchase option).

The allocation was implemented based on the following percentages to the qualifying entities authorized to subscribe in this tranche:

-Saudi companies (including listed companies, private companies, insurance companies and authorized persons), 37.5%.

-Public funds, private funds and funds managed by authorized persons, 26.3%.

-Saudi government institutions, 13.2%.

-Non-Saudi investors (including GCC investors, qualified foreign investors and non-resident investors through swap agreements), 23.1%

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