Saudi Aramco paying €61bn for majority stake in Sabic

Riyadh – Saudi Aramco has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire 70% majority stake in Saudi petrochemicals and chemicals company Sabic for $69.1 billion (€61.3 billion).

The shares are being purchased from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia in a private transaction, Saudi Aramco said in a 27 March statement.

Aramco does not intend to purchase the remaining 30% publicly traded shares in Sabic in the future, according to its statement.

The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Headquartered in Riyadh, Sabic reported a net income of $5.7 billion on $45 billion sales in 2018.

The deal is “major step” in Aramco’s downstream growth strategy of integrated refining and petrochemicals, said Amin Nasser, president & CEO of Saudi Aramco.

“Sabic is a good strategic fit and a solid platform to support our continued investment for future growth in petrochemicals,” added Abdulaziz Al-Judaimi, SVP of Downstream, Saudi Aramco.

Aramco, he said, is pursuing partnerships and acquisitions “to create long-term value and develop ground-breaking crude-oil-to-chemicals technologies.”

Sabic’s product portfolio includes materials for the tire & rubber industry, among them polybutadiene, EPDM rubber and carbon black.

Saudi Aramco supplies a broad range of synthetic rubber materials via its Dutch-headquartered Arlanxeo subsidiary, as well as its Petro Rabigh and Sadara joint ventures in Saudi Arabia.