Attacks on #Saudi Oil Risk Lowering Aramco IPO Valuation - Bloomberg

Attacks on Saudi Oil Risk Lowering Aramco IPO Valuation - Bloomberg:

The weekend drone attacks on Saudi Aramco’s oil facilities came just as the company prepares to meet analysts for a potential initial public offering. The incident, which has caused Saudi Arabia to cut its oil output in half, may affect Aramco’s valuation but is unlikely to derail the milestone offering, analysts and investors said.

The giant oil producer has been speeding up preparations for a share sale that could happen as soon as November in Riyadh. Dozens of bankers from Citigroup Inc. to JPMorgan Chase & Co. met in Dubai last week to work on the deal, with analyst presentations initially scheduled for next week, people familiar with the matter have said.

“Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will push the company to demonstrate that it can effectively tackle terrorism or war challenges,” analysts led by Ayham Kamel, head of Middle East and North Africa research at the Eurasia Group, said in a report. “The attacks could complicate Aramco’s IPO plans.”