FILE PHOTO: A general view of Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia, February 20, 2022. REUTERS/Mohammed Benmansour/File Photo
DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund delayed the potential sale of its remaining stake in a local utility firm after lacklustre demand from investors, say people familiar with the matter.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF), in recent weeks, held informal talks about raising as much as US$800mil from a share placement of its 17.5% stake in Power and Water Utility Co for Jubail and Yanbu (Marafiq), the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public.
A resurgence in initial public offerings in the kingdom over the past couple of months has diverted investor attention away from Marafiq’s placement, the people said.
The poor performance of the most recent follow-on sales has also made the PIF more cautious about future deals, they said.
The fund may revisit the idea of selling some of its Marafiq stake at a later date, the people said.
The PIF declined to comment on the deal while Marafiq didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The PIF, which holds stakes in some of Saudi Arabia’s biggest companies such as Saudi Electricity Co, Saudi Arabian Mining Co, Saudi National Bank and Riyad Bank, is reducing its holdings to raise funds for overseas deals and investments to help diversify the kingdom’s economy away from oil. — Bloomberg
