Informed sources revealed that Saudi Aramco is in advanced talks to acquire a stake in the refining and chemicals unit of the Indian company Reliance, in a deal estimated to be worth between 20 to 25 billion dollars.
The sources, who requested anonymity, said that the Saudi company is discussing buying a stake of approximately 20% in the “Reliance” unit in exchange for $20-25 billion worth of Aramco shares.
Based on Aramco’s market value of $1.9 trillion; The deal could give Reliance a stake of about 1% of the shares of the world’s largest energy company.
The sources indicated that Reliance, which is backed by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, may reach an agreement with Aramco as soon as possible in the coming weeks.
Reliance shares rose more than 2.6% in Mumbai after the Bloomberg report.
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The deal would help Reliance secure stable supplies of crude oil for its giant refineries, make the Indian company a shareholder in Aramco, and the agreement will lead to closer relations between the world’s largest oil exporter and one of the fastest growing energy consumers.
The sources confirmed that the details of the potential deal are still under negotiation, and the talks may extend, or an agreement may not be reached, and Aramco declined to comment.
The Saudi government sold 2% of Aramco in the initial public offering in 2019, raising nearly $30 billion.
The deal will help Aramco reach its goal of more than doubling its refining capacity to between 8 million and 10 million barrels of crude per day, compared to 3.6 million barrels per day of capacity at the end of last year, knowing that it includes stakes in joint ventures.