The Saudi Public Investment Fund has postponed a potential sale of its remaining stake in Saudi Marafiq Company, after receiving weak demand from investors, according to people familiar with the matter.
In recent weeks, the sovereign fund has held informal talks about raising up to $800 million from the sale of part of its 17.5% stake in the Jubail and Yanbu Electricity and Water Utilities Company, known as “Marafiq,” according to the people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity. Because the information is not made public.
The people said that the boom in initial public offerings in the Kingdom over the past two months has shifted investors’ attention away from the “Maafiq” deal. They also pointed out that the poor performance of the most recent direct sale deals for shares in previously offered companies made the fund more cautious about such deals.
The people familiar with the matter added that the fund may reconsider the idea of selling part of its stake in “Marafiq” at a later time. The Public Investment Fund refused to comment on the deal, while Marafiq did not respond to requests for comment.
This comes at a time when the Public Investment Fund is reducing its holdings in companies, with the aim of raising money to conclude deals and make foreign investments, with the aim of diversifying the Kingdom’s economy away from oil.
The fund owns shares in a number of the largest Saudi companies, such as the Saudi Electricity Company, the Saudi Arabian Mining Company, the National Bank of Saudi Arabia, and Riyad Bank.
Read also: Saudi “Marafiq” aims to raise $897 million in a public offering
2023-10-01 15:57:05
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