Saudi Aramco set the record for the largest initial public offering when it listed shares in 2019.
Saudi Aramco sold shares on the Saudi Exchange in December 2019, raising about $25.6 billion in the offering. After an additional share sale, the total raised reached approximately $29.4 billion, reinforcing its position as the largest IPO at the time.
The company is officially Saudi Arabian Oil Company and is majority-owned by the government of Saudi Arabia. It operates across oil exploration, production, refining, chemicals, and distribution. Its enormous reserves and production scale give it an unusually large valuation compared with most publicly traded companies.
Alibaba had previously held the IPO record after its 2014 New York listing. Saudi Aramco’s offering was also notable because only a small portion of the company was sold to public investors, while the Saudi state retained control.