Saudi Arabia's Acwa Power to raise up to $1.2bn from IPO

A worker at a solar power plant. Acwa Power's listing will be one of the biggest in the region's energy industry after Saudi Aramco, the kingdom's oil company. Reuters

Saudi Arabian utility developer Acwa Power could raise up to 4.55 billion Saudi riyals ($1.21bn) from the listing of 11.1 per cent of its shares.

The company's shares are priced between 51 riyals and 56 riyals per share and, in all, 81,199,299 shares are on offer.

The listing will be one of the biggest in the region's energy industry after Saudi Aramco, the kingdom's oil company, floated its shares on Tadawul in 2019.

Bidding and bookbuilding will begin on September 15 and will close on September 27.

The company will set a final price before the offering is open to retail investors.

Individual investors can subscribe to Acwa Power's issuance from September 29 to October 1.

JPMorgan, Citi, Riyad Capital and Natixis are the financial advisers on this transaction.

Acwa Power operates in 13 countries across the Middle East, Africa and South-East Asia. It has a portfolio of 64 assets with a total investment of $66 billion, producing 42 gigawatts of power and 6.4 million cubic metres a day of desalinated water.

The power developer is at the forefront of Saudi Arabia's efforts to diversify its energy sector with more greener investments. The world's largest oil exporter plans to add gas and renewables capacity equating to one million barrels of oil a day by 2030.

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, is the biggest shareholder in the company with a 50 per cent stake. Acwa Power has seven other stakeholders, including the Saudi Public Pension Agency.