Adnoc Drilling IPO size increased

Unit’s share sale set to be largest ever listing on Abu Dhabi Exchange

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) yesterday announced that, following approval from the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), it has increased the number of ordinary shares offered in the initial public offering (IPO) of Adnoc Drilling Company (Adnoc Drilling)

The increase is from 1,200,000,000 ordinary shares to 1,760,000,000 ordinary shares, which equates to 11 per cent of Adnoc Drilling’s total issued share capital.

Subject to completion of the IPO, Adnoc will continue to own a majority 84 per cent stake in the Company, while Baker Hughes, which entered into a strategic partnership with Adnoc Drilling in October 2018, will retain its 5 per cent shareholding in the company.

No price change

The offer price of Dh2.30 per share remains unchanged.

As part of the new offering size, Adnoc also intends to increase the size of the tranches reserved for UAE retail investors, including eligible Adnoc Group companies’ employees and UAE national retirees. The final tranche sizes will be determined at Adnoc’s discretion and announced on September 27, 2021.

Investor demand

The new offering size was determined by Adnoc, as the selling shareholder, based on significant investor demand and the considerable oversubscription across all Tranches. The enlarged offering will enable a broader investor base to obtain exposure to Adnoc Drilling’s highly attractive value proposition.

The subscription period for the Adnoc Drilling IPO remains unchanged and will close on September 23, 2021 for UAE retail investors and on September 26, 2021 for qualified domestic and international institutional investors.

Adnoc Drilling is expected to list on the ADX on or around October 3, 2021.