Saudi Aramco conducted the world’s largest initial public offering in 2019.
The company sold shares on the Saudi Stock Exchange, known as Tadawul, in December 2019. The offering raised about $25.6 billion, and an additional share-allotment option later increased the total to about $29.4 billion. That surpassed the previous record set by Alibaba’s 2014 listing.
Saudi Aramco is Saudi Arabia’s state-controlled oil company and one of the world’s largest integrated energy businesses. Its operations include crude-oil production, refining, petrochemicals, marketing, and natural gas.
The IPO is often discussed alongside market capitalization because the offering gave public investors a way to value part of the company. An IPO’s money raised and a company’s market capitalization are different measurements: the first concerns newly sold shares, while the second values all outstanding shares at the current market price.