Aramco will acquire 22.5% of Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co.
Saudi Aramco Deal Lifts PetroRabigh Shares Most Since 2021
Saudi Aramco agreed to buy an additional stake in PetroRabigh from its joint venture partner Sumitomo Chemical Co. for $702 million. PetroRabigh shares rose the most since 2021.
Aramco will acquire 22.5% of Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. from the Japanese company، taking its stake to 60% and Sumitomo Chemical’s to 15%، according to a statement Wednesday.
PetroRabigh’s stock jumped as much as 10%، the biggest intraday gain since December 2021، and paring this year’s decline to 22%. The shares were trading at 8.14 riyals on Wednesday، moving above Aramco’s purchase price of 7 riyals apiece.
The deal helped counter PetroRabigh reporting a second-quarter loss of 1.1 billion Saudi riyals ($293 million) on Wednesday.
All proceeds received by Sumitomo from the sale will be injected into PetroRabigh. Aramco will also provide an additional $702 million to improve the firm’s financial position، according to the statement.
Aramco and Sumitomo also agreed to waive loans of $750m each، helping reduce PetroRabigh’s liabilities.
PetroRabigh operates a refining and petrochemical complex located on Saudi Arabia’s west coast and produces a variety of refined petroleum and petrochemical products، such as heavy and light oil، naphtha and kerosene.
