Aramco acquires majority stake in SABIC

Saudi Aramco has agreed to buy 70% of the Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (Sabic) to the kingdom's sovereign fund for $ 69.1 billion.

SABIC and Aramco indicated that the agreed purchase price was 123.39 riyals per share, a small fraction of SABIC's share price at Wednesday's close.

The agreement, which aims to support Aramco's growth plans in the downstream sector, follows months of discussions between Aramco and the Public Investment Fund.

"This transaction represents a common benefit for all parties and a qualitative leap forward for three of the Kingdom's largest economic institutions," said Yasser Al Rumayan, supervisor of the Public Investment Fund.

For his part, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said on Twitter that "the Saudi economy is the biggest winner".

Aramco is increasing its investment in refining and petrochemicals to secure new markets for its crude oil. The growth of the chemicals sector is at the heart of its downstream strategy.

Source: Reuters