Saudi Aramco officials and bankers started due diligence at Reliance’s offices in Mumbai earlier this month/Bloomberg
by William MullallyReliance Industries’ talks to sell a minority stake in its oil-to-chemical division to Saudi Aramco have been gathering pace in recent weeks.
Saudi Aramco officials and bankers started due diligence at Reliance’s offices in Mumbai earlier this month. Both parties are trying to overcome differences over the deal’s structure, which stalled the process last year.
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance is keen to sign a binding agreement before the next annual shareholders meeting, which is due to take place before the end of September 2020.
Reliance in August 2020 valued its oil-to-chemicals division at $75 billion including debt, implying a $15 billion valuation for the 20 per cent stake. If the deal closes at this value, it will be the largest transaction in India since Walmart’s $16 billion acquisition of a majority stake in Flipkart Online Services.
In August 2019, Ambani told shareholders that Reliance and Saudi Aramco had agreed to a non-binding deal for a 20 per cent stake in the oil-to-chemical operations. However, in December the Indian government requested a court to stop the proposed sale to help ensure the Mumbai-based company has enough assets to pay arbitration claims in an unrelated case.
Reliance has been selling assets from mobile-phone towers to a 49 per cent stake in its fuel retail business to reduce the leverage that is risen over the past few years as it poured money into new sectors such as telecommunications.
BUSINESS
SABB seeks to boost corporate lendingBUSINESS
HSBC considering exiting from TurkeyBUSINESS
Zimbabwe turns to UAE to sell a stake in...BUSINESS
ADIA plans to sell a $2 billion stake in...BUSINESS
Amanat considers stake in VPS HealthcareBUSINESS
ECI, HSBC partner to support UAE businessesBUSINESS
National Bank of Oman to exit from EgyptBUSINESS
Salt Bae backers seek a partner and a $1...BUSINESS
Oman plans to launch new regional airline
CPI Financial was established in Dubai in 1999 to meet the needs of an ever-expanding financial community, offering a comprehensive portfolio of market-leading products and services tailor-made for the banking and financial services sectors.
Loading More post
