Oman state energy firm raises $2B from IPO, sultanate's largest ever
OQ raised the funds for its exploration and production business on the local stock exchange.
Oman’s state energy company, OQ, has raised $2.03 billion from an initial public offering (IPO) of its exploration and production business on the local stock exchange, said the country’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) Thursday, marking the sultanate’s largest-ever listing.
According to an FSA statement, the firm sold 2 billion shares, a 25% stake, in OQ Exploration & Production (OQEP) at 390 baisas ($1.01) per share, floated on the Muscat Stock Exchange. The deal was priced at the top of its indicative range of 370–390 baisas per share and was around 2.4 times oversubscribed, the FSA said. One thousand baisas are equivalent to one Omani riyal. The deal values the firm at around $8.1 billion.
The sale, which ran from Sept. 30 to Oct. 10, attracted commitments from six anchor investors to subscribe for 20% of the offering, OQ said in a statement.
HSBC Holdings Plc, Natixis SA, Sohar International Bank SAOG and Oman Investment Bank operated as the joint global coordinators for the OQEP deal.
