Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil company, eyes London for $50 billion IPO

Saudi Arabia has restarted plans to list more shares of Aramco, according to people familiar with the company's strategy, with an ambition to sell as much as a $50 billion stake, which at current valuations would be 2.5% of the company.

Executives at the world's most valuable oil company have held discussions internally and with outside advisers about selling additional shares on the Riyadh stock exchange and a secondary listing, possibly in London, Singapore or other venues, the people said.

The listing of shares would be by far the largest in the history of capital markets and could prove difficult to pull off.

The company set the previous record for the world's largest initial public offering in 2019, when it raised $29.4 billion on the Tadawul, or the Saudi stock exchange.

The stake-sale effort is still in the planning stage, and could still be delayed or changed, the people said.

Riyadh has floated several different plans over the years aimed at raising funds via Aramco, some of which have ultimately faltered or been abandoned.

The 2019 listing was a scaled-back version of the company's original ambitions, which were to sell 5% of the company for as much as $100 billion, including on a major international exchange.

But international investors were wary of governance issues and the priciness of the shares, which valued the company at $1.7 trillion. The domestic-only IPO ultimately listed 1.5% of the company.

Aramco declined to comment.