沙特阿美寻求融资收购沙特基础工业公司

据油气新闻网站4月15日消息 据三家银行业消息人士透露，全球最大石油生产商沙特阿美正与银行就一笔约100亿美元的贷款进行初步谈判，以帮助其收购沙特基础工业公司70%的股权。

阿美去年同意以691亿美元从沙特财富基金手中收购沙特基础工业公司的控股权，这是全球化工行业有史以来规模最大的交易之一。

其中一位消息人士表示：“融资将用于沙特基础工业公司的交易，但贷款方是沙特阿美。双方的讨论尚处于初期阶段，该公司正在试探银行。”

“100亿美元是他们想要达到的目标，但目前还不清楚在这个市场上他们能否实现这个目标。”

另一位消息人士表示，参与谈判的银行包括汇丰银行和摩根大通，以及海湾地区的银行。

沙特阿美在回应路透社就其是否寻求此类贷款置评的请求时表示：“公司将继续审查其财务选择，作为其正常业务的一部分，同时审慎地保持其原始资产负债表和弹性。”

摩根大通拒绝置评，汇丰银行则没有立即回应置评请求。

第三位银行家表示，阿美寻求以美元借款，是因为美元在利息方面比沙特里亚尔便宜，并避免给沙特银行的流动性带来压力。

王磊 摘译自 油气新闻

原文如下：

Aramco seeks $10 bn to finance Sabic acquisition

Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil producer, is in early talks with banks for a loan of about $10 billion to help finance its acquisition of a 70 per cent stake in Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic), according to three banking sources, said a Reuters report.

Aramco agreed last year to buy the controlling stake in Sabic from the kingdom's wealth fund for $69.1 billion, sealing one of the biggest-ever deals in the global chemical industry.

"The financing would be for the Sabic deal, but the borrower is Aramco," said one of the sources, adding that the discussions were at an initial stage, with the company sounding out banks.

"Ten billion dollars is where they want to get to, (it's) not clear if, in this market, they'll manage to reach that."

A second source said banks involved in the talks included HSBC and JPMorgan, as well as lenders in the Gulf.

In response to a Reuters request for comment about whether it was seeking such a loan, Saudi Aramco said: "The company continues to review its financial options as part of its normal course of business, while prudently preserving its pristine balance sheet and its resilience."

JPMorgan declined to comment, while HSBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A third banker said Aramco was looking to borrow in US dollars because it was cheaper than in Saudi riyals, in terms of interest, and to avoid pressuring Saudi banks' liquidity.