2 Minute Read by Reuters, DUBAI, July 1 – According to insiders, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has hired Goldman Sachs to supervise the IPO of its drilling unit, which will be the bank’s first high-profile deal in the emirate since 2019. After state fund Mubadala’s subsidiary filed a lawsuit against it two years ago to recover losses incurred via its dealings with Malaysia’s fund 1MDB, Goldman Sachs’ investment banking unit was barred from any new business with Abu Dhabi. According to two sources familiar with the subject, Goldman Sachs will serve as worldwide coordinator for ADNOC Drilling’s public share offering, joining a vast syndicate of advisors on the deal. Goldman Sachs and ADNOC, which provides over 3% of world oil demand, both declined to comment. According to insiders, ADNOC plans to go public with the unit in the third quarter, with the company valued at $6 to $8 billion. According to their website, ADNOC Drilling owns and manages a vast fleet of rigs, comprising 75 onshore rigs, 20 offshore jackup rigs, and 11 well water rigs. Drilling is crucial to ADNOC’s upstream activities, as it helps the company meet production targets. Sultan al-Jaber, the CEO of ADNOC, has been the driving force behind the company’s transformation strategy, which began more than four years ago with the goal of monetising assets and raising cash from foreign private equity firms. Fertiglobe, a fertiliser joint venture with Dutch-listed chemical firm OCI, is also set to go public later this year. Goldman Sachs has increased its footprint in Saudi Arabia in recent years. It was hired as the global coordinator for Saudi Aramco’s record-breaking $29.4 billion initial public offering (IPO) in 2019. Mubadala’s International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) in Abu Dhabi abandoned its lawsuit against Goldman Sachs in October after the bank agreed to pay $2.9 billion. Hadeel Al Sayegh contributed reporting, and David Evans edited the piece./n
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