ADNOC could float up to 30% of distribution unit

ABU DHABI / Reuters

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has embarked on a major shake-up plan to priv-
atise its services businesses, venture into oil trading and expa-
nd partnerships with strategic
investors, its chief executive said on Monday.
The partial privatisation plan marks a major shift by the state energy company that was founded in 1971. It aims to make ADNOC more competitive and commercially focussed, operating in way that is more akin to other state-owned controlled peers.
The state firm plans to sell at least 10 percent of its fuel retail unit, ADNOC Distribution, in an initial public offering (IPO) this year and could float up to 30 percent in the unit in future, CEO
Sultan Al-Jaber told Reuters in
an interview.
Although ADNOC has no plans to list the holding company, it might look at selling stakes in other service companies and would explore new ways to manage its assets, Al-Jaber said. “ADNOC as the holding company will continue to be wholly owned by one shareholder that is Abu Dhabi government,” he said.
“But anything that is currently owned by ADNOC especially companies in the service sector are actually candidates for us to explore where we can unlock and maximise value.” He said ADNOC aimed to sell at least 10 percent of ADNOC Distribution, which runs a chain of fuel stations across the United Arab Emirates, and could sell up to 30 percent in future.
“We have not in any way considered anything more than a potential 30 percent in the future,” he said. “We will always continue to own a significant majority.”

ADNOC plans to raise $2.25bn pre-IPO loan
DUBAI / Reuters

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) plans to raise a $2.25 billion loan for its distribution unit prior to selling a stake of up to 20 percent in the unit in an initial public offering (IPO), sources familiar with the matter said.
The loan is the latest of a number of fundraisings that ADNOC is carrying out as part of an overhaul of its capital structure. The $2.25 billion loan, which includes a $1.5 billion term loan and a $750 million revolving credit facility, is aimed at “establishing a well-structured balance sheet for the company” ahead of its IPO, said a source close to the deal.