MEOG: ADES IPO oversubscribed

Saudi Arabian oilfield drilling firm ADES Holding’s initial public offering (IPO) was almost 63 times oversubscribed, with orders worth SAR287bn ($76.5bn) received for an offering worth $1.2bn.

The IPO will consist of 338.7mn ordinary shares and will lead to a free float of 30% of all share capital after selling a combination of existing and newly issued shares. Shares were priced at SAR13.5 each ($3.6), giving ADES an implied value of $4.1bn.

The IPO is being co-ordinated by EFG Hermes, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the local SNB Capital, and will be open to retail investors between September 26 and September 28.

A majority share in ADES was acquired by Innovative Energy in March 2021 with the financial backing of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), enabling its delisting from the London Stock Exchange where it was listed in 2017. That deal valued ADES at $516mn.

The PIF is joined in the company’s ownership by ADES Investments Holding and Zamil Group Investment Co.

The shareholders will collectively sell 101.6mn shares, proportionate to their shareholding, with another 237.1mn new shares to be issued.

ADES focuses mainly on Egypt, but also cover Algeria and Saudi Arabia, with key clients including Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC), Qatar’s Nort Oil Co. (NOC) and Saudi Aramco. Last year it completed the relocation of its headquarters from Egypt to Al-Khobar in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.