Saudi Arabia's energy giant Saudi Aramco has signed a deal to buy 70% stock of Sabic
2019-04-22
Saudi Arabia's energy giant Saudi Aramco has signed a deal to buy 70% stock of Saudi Basic Industries Corp. for $69.1 billion.
Aramco said in a statement on March 27 that it would buy the entire 70% stake held by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia through a private transaction, excluding the remaining 30% of Sabic's listed shares.
Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Riyadh, Sabic has a leading market position in key petrochemicals such as polyethylene, polypropylene and ethylene glycol, etc. Besides, Sabic is also well placed in the fertilizer and metals industries. In engineering plastics industries, Sabic has also acquired 24.99% stock of Clariant International Ltd., a Swiss chemicals company. Sabic's specialty business and Clariant's additive/color masterbatch businesses are merging nowdays. Sabic’s net income for 2018 was $5.7 billion and sales were $45 billion.
Amin Nasser, the president and chief executive of Saudi Aramco, said the deal was an "important step" in the company's strategy to integrate and improve business between refining and downstream.