Riyadh – Mubasher: The Saudi Arabian Oil Co, known globally as Saudi Aramco, has not invited UBS and Bank of America Merrill Lynch to compete for major advisory roles in its planned initial public offering (IPO), said finance sources in the firm.
The state-owned crude producer explained that the two banks haven't lent it money in the recent years.
“The two investment banks, among the world’s biggest, have not been asked to attend meetings in Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks where its rivals will pitch for global coordinator mandates for the IPO, said the people familiar with the matter,” Reuters reported on Tuesday.
“They have been frozen out by Aramco, the sources added, despite having operations in the Middle East and wanting to take part in the initial public offering, which could be the biggest in history,” the sources added.
In 2016, the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that Kingdom was planning to sell 5% stake of Aramco.
