War, Money, Oil and the Shaping of Aramco’s Giant Share Sale

  • CEO Amin Nasser delivered international deal MBS always wanted
  • Deal’s success could make it a template for future share sales

The Saudi Aramco booth at the Future Investment Initiative.

Photographer: Tasneem Alsultan/Bloomberg
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As the boss of the world’s biggest oil company flew around the world in early June to drum up investor interest in one of the biggest share sales in recent years, he could breathe a sigh of relief.

Five years after Aramco’s $29.4 billion listing had been marred by temper tantrums and U-turns that left it almost entirely reliantBloomberg Terminal on local investors, Amin Nasser and a coterie of top Wall Street bankers had finally delivered the international deal Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman always wanted.