Saudi Aramco’s 2019 initial public offering made it the world’s largest IPO.
The company began trading on the Saudi Stock Exchange, or Tadawul, in December 2019. It sold a small portion of its shares to investors and raised about $25.6 billion, giving the offering the largest IPO proceeds recorded at that time.
Saudi Aramco is the national oil company of Saudi Arabia and is one of the largest integrated energy companies in the world. Its business includes crude-oil production, refining, petrochemicals, and global energy distribution. Because the company retained most of its shares, the IPO did not represent a sale of the entire enterprise.
The offering was closely watched because Saudi Aramco had long been considered one of the world’s most profitable companies. Its public listing also formed part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plans to diversify the economy and develop domestic capital markets beyond oil production.