Saudi Aramco became the largest company ever to conduct an initial public offering in 2019.
The oil giant raised about $25.6 billion in its December 2019 IPO, selling shares on the Saudi Stock Exchange, or Tadawul. An overallotment option later increased the proceeds to about $29.4 billion.
The offering valued Saudi Aramco at roughly $1.7 trillion at listing, making it one of the world’s most valuable publicly traded companies. The sale was part of Saudi Arabia’s broader economic-diversification strategy known as Vision 2030.
Alibaba’s 2014 listing had previously held the IPO record at about $25 billion. Saudi Aramco’s offering surpassed that record after the additional shares were sold, although the exact comparison depends on whether the overallotment is included.