Moelis wins biggest ever mandate for Saudi Aramco IPO

by Dramelin 5:30 PM 0 comments

Moelis & Co has won the advisory mandate for the planned initial public offering of Saudi Aramco, according to three people familiar with the process, scoring the New York independent firm the biggest equity advisory mandate in history. Banks, advisory firms and consultancies have scrambled to secure work on the IPO since Saudi officials announced their intention a year ago. Saudi officials hope to turn the state-owned oil group into the world`s most valuable publicly traded company, which they believe could carry a valuation of about $2 trillion. Winning the hotly contested mandate represents a coup for the boutique investment bank, which was founded by Ken Moelis in the midst of the financial crisis in 2007. Riyadh hopes to use the IPO proceeds for investments in non-oil industries in order to wean the country off its most precious resource.