ADNOC, Dutch-listed OCI set to pick Citi, FAB, HSBC for JV IPO

DUBAI: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and chemical producer OCI N.V. (OCI) are likely to pick First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC and Citigroup to work on the public-share sale of their fertiliser joint venture Fertiglobe, three sources told Reuters.

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, Fertiglobe was formed in 2019 after OCI and ADNOC combined their ammonia and urea assets, with the two companies currently holding ownership stakes of 58% and 42% respectively.

The line up of banks is still not finalised and ADNOC may add more advisors to the deal, said two of the sources, who declined to be named as the matter is not public.

ADNOC, HSBC, OCI and Citigroup declined to comment. First Abu Dhabi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Abu Dhabi's main equities index is up more than 20% this year, outperforming Gulf markets on increased liquidity and positive sentiment over the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine.

Fertiglobe is expected to be next in line for a listing after ADNOC completes the IPO of its drilling business, one of the sources said. Both the transactions, should they go ahead, will be subject to market conditions and regulatory approval.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that the state oil company was considering a public share sale of its subsidiary ADNOC Drilling and a listing of its shares in Abu Dhabi.

The two deals come as ADNOC, which supplies nearly 3% of global oil demand, seeks to extract value from businesses it owns and divest assets seen as non-core businesses.

Egyptian billionaire Sawiris, who controls Euronext-listed OCI, is also chief executive of Fertiglobe. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, who is chief executive at ADNOC, is chairman of the board at Fertiglobe.