Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Aramco on Wednesday announced the closure of a SAR 259.125 billion ($69.1 billion) deal for the acquisition of a 70% stake in Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) from the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

The Saudi huge oil producer declined any intentions for the acquisition of the remaining 30% stake, according to a company statement.

The deal will be subject to a group of regulatory approvals, Aramco added. 

Located in Riyadh, SABIC operates in over 50 countries worldwide, with 33,000 employees.

In February, state-owned Saudi Aramco appointed banks to arrange the issuance of its first international bonds whose proceeds were planned to be used to finance the acquisition of a majority stake in SABIC.

The banks appointed by Aramco included National Commercial Bank (NCB), HSBC, Citi, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan.

SABIC last reported a 16.87% year-on-year increase in net profit after Zakat and tax during the full-year 2018, recording SAR 21.54 billion ($5.74 billion).