Saudi Aramco is looking to restructure its deal to acquire a controlling stake in petrochemicals maker SABIC after a more than 40% drop in SABIC’s value following a slump in oil prices in coronavirus pandemic, two sources told Reuters.
Aramco last year agreed to buy a 70% stake in Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) from the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the kingdom’s wealth fund, for $69.1 billion, in one of the biggest deals in the global chemical industry.
The transaction was priced at 123.39 riyal ($32.86) per SABIC share, when the deal was announced in March 2019, but its shares are currently trading at around 70 riyals, as an oil price crash and the coronavirus pandemic pushed SABIC into a second straight quarterly loss in the first quarter.
