Clifford Chance acts as issuer’s counsel to ADES on its landmark IPO and listing on the Saudi Stock Exchange

Clifford Chance has acted as issuer’s counsel to ADES Holding Company on its SAR4.6 billion (approx. USD1.2 billion) landmark IPO with an implied market capitalisation at listing of SAR15.2 billion (approx. USD4.1 billion), set to mark the largest IPO in the MENA region this year. The IPO was completed on October 11, 2023, with the listing of the shares of ADES on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul).

The IPO included an international institutional investor tranche under Regulation S of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933. Overall, domestically and internationally, the IPO raised more than 90 per cent of the total IPO offer volume from institutional investors and the remaining offer volume from Saudi retail investors. The IPO order book was 62.7 times oversubscribed, with a total demand of SAR286.9 billion (approx. USD76.5 billion).

ADES is a leading oil and gas drilling services provider in the MENA region with global-scale operations across seven countries: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, and India. ADES’s portfolio of services primarily includes onshore and offshore contract drilling and workover services, which include maintenance, repair, and enhancement of oil production.

A strong cross-border team of lawyers from both Clifford Chance and AS&H Clifford Chance advised on this transaction. The Clifford Chance Frankfurt team was led by partner George Hacket, supported by counsel Axel Wittmann, senior associate Andrei Manea and associate Maks Mencin.

The AS&H Clifford Chance team was led by partners Mansoor Alhagbani (Head of the Capital Markets & Financial Regulatory) and Omar Rashid. Senior associate Rakan Kawar and associate Jomana Alkathiri were the lead associates and were supported by associates Abdulrahman Alkhudairy, Aljazi Alhagbani, Ibrahim Al-Mansour, Aljoahra Bin Ahmed, Noura Alassaf, and Yara Abushanan (all Riyadh-based).