RIYADH: Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) is close to hiring JPMorgan Chase & Co. and First Abu Dhabi Bank to help arrange the potential listing of its drilling business, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
ADNOC is looking to sell a minority stake in its drilling unit in a deal that could value the business at up to $10 billion, the people said, declining to be named because the matter is private.
In 2018, when Baker Hughes bought a 5 percent stake in ADNOC Drilling, that deal valued the company at about $11 billion.
The state energy firm has yet to award formal mandates, but the two banks are in pole position for a role on the IPO at the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the people said. ADNOC may also appoint additional advisers, they said.
ADNOC and JPMorgan declined to comment and FAB didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Alongside tapping new revenue sources, Abu Dhabi is looking to revive its dormant stock market by bringing in local or international investors.
Government entities such as ADNOC, Mubadala and ADQ have also been exploring different ways to raise cash for their owner.
Elsewhere, the Saudi Competition Authority has approved the acquisition of 15 fuel stations in the Kingdom by the UAE’s ADNOC International Distribution.
The authority issued a no-objection letter for the deal.
It conducted a detailed study of the fuel station market in the Kingdom, before issuing the decision, and made sure that the acquisition did not raise any concerns about the fairness of competition in the fuel sector in the Saudi market, Asharq Business reported, citing an unnamed source.
It is understood that the authority is studying a number of similar applications from companies eyeing potential fuel station purchases in the Kingdom.
ADNOC Distribution originally announced its intention to acquire the stations in December.
