Oil and gas drilling company ADES International is pushing its planned initial public offering (IPO) to the second half of 2023, Bloomberg reported, citing sources aware of the development.
The company, which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), hoped to gauge investor interest for the listing in March, but decided to postpone it, the sources said.
Now, there is not enough time to wrap up the IPO before the public holiday at the end of June, they added.
ADES aims to make sure the timing is appropriate for an IPO of its size, which could fetch up to $1bn, the sources said.
Talks are still ongoing and specifics of the offering such as timing and size could still change.
An ADES representative could not be reached for comment.
In 2021, PIF collaborated with the primary owners of ADES to make the company private in a deal that valued it at around $516m.
ADES, which caters to clients in the Middle East and North Africa, has expanded through acquisitions, with the most recent being a $628m deal with Seadrill.
Currently, it operates 84 rigs across markets such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Egypt, with customers including Saudi Arabian Oil Company and Kuwait Oil Company.
The number of IPOs in the Persian Gulf markets has reduced significantly from last year, amid a slump in oil prices due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and concerns about a recession.
The news follows the report that Saudi Aramco is postponing the $30bn IPO of its energy trading business.
Aramco is yet to decide on a new timeline for listing, which could happen in 2024 if the market situation does not improve.
