Saudi Arabian Oil Co. formally asked major banks to pitch their possible roles in the state-owned oil giant's planned IPO, Reuters reported Aug. 19, citing two sources.
The sources told Reuters that the request was sent to the banks a few days ago.
A third source called the move a key step for the IPO to push through unless market conditions worsen or a major geopolitical event delays it further.
When the IPO plan was initially announced in 2016, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and HSBC were selected to play a leading role in the IPO, Reuters said. Sources at the time told Reuters that Saudi Aramco also hired Moelis & Co. and Evercore as independent advisers. However, the IPO process was put on hold in 2018 due to the planned acquisition of a 70% stake in petrochemicals company Saudi Basic Industries Corp.
In July, Bloomberg News reported that Saudi Aramco had resumed preparations for the IPO. The Saudi oil giant was also reportedly accelerating the timeline for its IPO to as soon as early 2020.
