The maxi-IPO of Saudi Aramco, the Saudi public oil giant, will start on 17th November. The date reads in Informative prospect released on Saturday night (after a long wait) from Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, however, the weighty document - a 658-page tome - contains practically none of the most important information: nor the number of shares for sale on the Riyadh Stock Exchange, nor the price fork by which the securities will be offered.
There is no doubt however that the Saudi Aramco IPO will be the largest IPO of all time.
In addition to the date of November 17, the only other significant change that emerges from the very long prospectus is that 0,5% of the capital will be allocated to retail.
As for the closing date of the offer, it is fixed at 4th December for institutional investors e at the November 28 for individuals.
Once this first stage is completed, the 5 December Saudi Arabia will communicate the price of the securities and the share of capital destined to end up on the market.
The prospectus also states that each individual institutional investor may hold a maximum of 0,5% of Saudi Aramco shares in their portfolio.
The bonus shares. Translation: Every retail investor who holds shares for 180 straight days from the Saudi Stock Exchange trading start date will receive one share for every ten shares allotted in the offer, up to a maximum of 100 bonus shares.
Finally, there is also a period of lock up for the company and for the Saudi government, which will have to wait at least a year before placing other shares of the capital.
