Saudi Aramco Might Postpone IPO Of Energy Trading Unit

Saudi Aramco is pushing back a planned Riyadh IPO of its energy-trading business, a deal that would have ranked as one of the world’s largest share sales this year, people with knowledge of the matter said.

• The firm has significantly slowed down preparatory work on the deal in recent months, according to the people. It hasn’t set a new timeline for the listing, which may be postponed until next year unless the market improves, one person said.
• Aramco had been planning to list the business in late 2022 or early this year and was considering seeking a valuation of more than $30bn, Bloomberg News reported previously.
• Aramco has been working with banks including Goldman Sachs Group, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley as it studies the potential IPO, people with knowledge of the matter have said.