Saudi Aramco held its initial public offering in 2019, one of the largest in history.
Saudi Aramco, formally Saudi Arabian Oil Company, listed shares on the Saudi Stock Exchange, or Tadawul, in December 2019. The offering raised about 25.6 billion US dollars, making it the largest initial public offering at the time.
The offering sold a minority stake while the Saudi government remained the majority shareholder. Saudi Aramco's enormous valuation reflected its extensive oil reserves, large production capacity, and central role in Saudi Arabia's economy.
The company traces its origins to the 1933 oil concession granted to Standard Oil of California, later known as Chevron. The name Aramco comes from Arabian American Oil Company. The IPO date is sometimes confused with the later additional share sale in 2022, which was a separate transaction.