AS&H in co-operation with Clifford Chance advises Public Investment Fund on the sale of its 70% shareholding in SABIC to Saudi Aramco

The transaction with a value of US$ 69.1 billion represents the largest M&A transaction ever in the Middle East

Abuhimed Alsheikh Alhagbani Law Firm (AS&H) in co-operation with Clifford Chance advised Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, on the sale of its 70% shareholding in Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) for US$ 69.1 Billion to Saudi Aramco.

SABIC, with global operations in over 50 countries and consolidated production volume across its various business units of 75 million metric tons, recorded net income of USD $5.7 billion, annual sales of USD $45 billion, and total assets of USD $85 billion in 2018.

The transaction will unlock significant capital for PIF’s continued long-term investment strategy in line with the goals and ambitions of the Kingdom as part of Vision 2030.

The share purchase agreement was signed on Wednesday, 27 March 2019. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

The team was led by Mansoor Alhagbani (AS&H Partner, Head of Capital Markets, Riyadh) and Omar Rashid (Clifford Chance Partner seconded to AS&H as AS&H Co-Head of Corporate) and supported by Rizwan Butt (Senior Associate) and Mashael Al-Shebaiky (Associate).

A team of M&A, anti-trust and banking and finance specialists from our Riyadh and London teams are also advising on the different aspects of the transaction, including a core team of partners comprising Guy Norman, Yasser Al-Hussain, Gareth Camp and Nelson Jung and associates including Michael Rueter and Reema Al-Hamoud.

Mansoor Alhagbani commented: “We are proud to have advised PIF on this truly landmark transaction for the Kingdom and the region. This work reflects our strong corporate and capital markets practices in Saudi Arabia. It is also a testament to the strength of our team in Riyadh that we were able to respond to a challenging timeline and at the same time, deal with numerous complex issues that arose during this transaction. We would like to thank PIF for putting their trust and confidence in our team on such an important mandate”.

Omar Rashid remarked: "We are proud to have successfully supported PIF on this strategic and transformational transaction for the Kingdom and the Middle East region and look forward to continuing to support them to achieve a successful closing for this historic deal”.

AS&H in co-operation with Clifford Chance regularly advises Saudi and international clients on key corporate and ECM transactions and mandates and recently advised SABB on its USD 5 billion statutory merger with Al-Awwal Bank, Sahara on its proposed business merger with Sipchem, Tenaris on its acquisition of a majority stake in Saudi Steel Pipe Company, NADEC on its acquisition of Al-Safi Danone as well as Savola Group on Saudi Arabia's first accelerated book-built block trade.