Adnoc, the top shareholder in Adnoc Gas, has said it plans to sell part of its stake in the subsidiary to institutional investors as it looks to improve liquidity and raise capital.
The Abu Dhabi-based energy company will offer about 3.1 billion ordinary shares, representing about 4 per cent of Adnoc Gas’s issued and outstanding shares, Adnoc said on Thursday.
At Adnoc Gas’s last closing price of Dh3.58, the offering is valued at Dh11.1 billion ($3.02 billion), making it potentially the largest share sale in the Mena region since Saudi Aramco's $12.3 billion offering in June last year.
The offering, which will commence immediately and is expected to close on Friday, will be open to qualified institutional and other investors in a number of countries, Adnoc said.
The company, which owns a 90 per cent stake in Adnoc Gas, said it could decide to close the offering at any time before the stated deadline.
“Since its initial public offering in March 2023, Adnoc Gas has consistently delivered strong growth, robust financial performance and superior shareholder returns,” said Khaled Al Zaabi, group chief financial officer at Adnoc.
“As a committed, long-term majority shareholder, this offering aligns with Adnoc's strategic objectives to enhance the liquidity and free float of Adnoc Gas."
The final number of shares to be placed and the offering price will be determined at the close of the book-building process and the proceeds will go to Adnoc.
The share offering aims to boost trading and liquidity, diversify shareholders and increase free float. A higher free float is also expected to "provide a pathway" for Adnoc Gas's inclusion in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) and Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) emerging market indexes, which could occur at the next quarterly review, subject to Adnoc Gas meeting all relevant inclusion criteria, Adnoc said.
Adnoc Gas, which has access to 95 per cent of the UAE's natural gas reserves, is looking to boost exports of products such as liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas and naphtha.
In the Emirates, Adnoc Gas supplies to customers, mostly utilities and industrial companies, through an extensive network of pipelines.
The company is set to acquire Adnoc’s majority stake in the Ruwais LNG project, which will have a total capacity of 9.6 million tonnes per annum. It is scheduled to start in the second half of 2028.
In 2023, Adnoc raised about Dh9.1 billion from the sale of a 5 per cent stake in Adnoc Gas, which was the UAE's biggest IPO that year.
The company sold more than 3.8 billion shares, with the IPO drawing strong demand from institutional and retail investors, and generating more than $124 billion in orders. It was about 50 times oversubscribed.
Last year, Adnoc raised $935 million by selling 880 million additional shares in its drilling unit – Adnoc Drilling – to institutional investors after recording strong demand for the offering.