Saudi Aramco is preparing a follow-on share offering of approximately 2% of the company that bankers expect to raise as much as $42 billion, according to filings reviewed by Reuters and confirmed by the kingdom's Ministry of Finance. The deal would mark the largest secondary offering in global capital markets history, surpassing the company's own 2024 follow-on by a wide margin.
The proceeds will flow directly to the Public Investment Fund, the kingdom's $930 billion sovereign wealth vehicle, which has accelerated capital calls for NEOM, the Red Sea Project and a planned $40 billion AI infrastructure fund announced jointly with Microsoft and Andreessen Horowitz earlier this month.
Vision 2030 Funding Pressure
The decision to tap public markets again reflects mounting pressure on Saudi Arabia's diversification push as oil revenue projections for 2026 have been cut by roughly $32 billion since the start of the year. NEOM alone has consumed an estimated $93 billion of cumulative spending against a master-plan budget that may reach $1.5 trillion by 2035.
JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Morgan Stanley and SNB Capital have been mandated to lead the offering, sources said. The price range is expected to be set at a small discount to the Tadawul market price of about 28.40 riyals when the book opens. Aramco trades at roughly 14.5 times forward earnings, modestly below ExxonMobil's 16.2 multiple.
Investor Demand and Strategic Stakes
Early indications of interest have come from Asian sovereign wealth funds, with both China Investment Corporation and Singapore's GIC reportedly studying multibillion-dollar allocations. Several U.S. asset managers including BlackRock and Vanguard are expected to participate through emerging-market index buying once Aramco shares are added to MSCI's standard EM index following the float increase.
The deal is a bellwether for global capital absorption capacity in 2026. With Stripe pricing a $112 billion tender offer this week and SpaceX targeting a private valuation north of $400 billion, Aramco joins a wave of mega-deals that suggest institutional risk appetite has snapped back faster than many strategists expected.