It’s a wrap for Petro Rabigh acquisition: Saudi Aramco finalized its SAR 2.6 bn (c. USD 701.7 mn) acquisition of a 22.5% stake in its refining and petrochemicals joint venture Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company (Petro Rabigh) from Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical, the companies said in two separate disclosures to Tadawul (here and here) on Thursday. The companies had been pursuing the move since their August 2024 binding agreement.

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Who owns what? Aramco now owns 60% of the joint venture, after purchasing some 376k Class A shares at SAR 7 apiece, while Sumitomo’s stake is down to 15% stake and other shareholders retain 25%. Aramco is restricted from selling the newly acquired shares for a period of six months without prior approval from the Capital Market Authority.

Fresh funding and loan waivers: Aramco and Sumitomo will also provide Petro Rabigh with an additional SAR 5.3 bn (c. USD 1.4 bn) in funding — through Class B shares — and waive SAR 5.6 bn (USD 1.5 bn) in existing revolving loans previously extended to Petro Rabigh.

Petro Rabigh has been preparing: Petro Rabigh completed a two-step restructuring to strengthen its balance sheet ahead of the transaction. The company raised its capital by 31.5% to SAR 22 bn through the issuance of 526.4 mn new Class B shares to Aramco and Sumitomo, generating SAR 5.3 bn in banknotes. The capital was then reduced back to SAR 16.71 bn to write off accumulated losses of the same amount.

The moves are meant to help turn around Petro Rabigh’s finances, after losses widened to SAR 1.4 bn in 1Q 2024, pushing cumulative losses to SAR 8.9 bn, equivalent to over 53% of its capital — above the regulatory threshold requiring corrective action. The company’s performance has since improved, with net losses narrowing to SAR 2.06 bn in 1H 2025, from SAR 2.47 bn a year earlier, though revenue fell 13.6% y-o-y to SAR 15.5 bn. Accumulated losses stood at SAR 7.34 bn by end-1H, equivalent to 43.9% of capital.

The story also got ink from Reuters.

IN OTHER M&A NEWS-

Sasco’s subsidiary acquisition of 70% of Tadbeer is now live: Tadawul-listed SaudiAutomotive Services ’ (Sasco) subsidiary Investment and Equipment finalized an SAR 85 mn agreement to acquire 70% of Tadbeer Recruitment after it secured a class A license and converted Tadbeer to class A from B, it said in a Tadawul disclosure on Thursday.

SOUND SMART- Class A and class B shares are two different types of stocks that carry different voting rights, availability and value. Class A stocks typically offer greater voting power granting holders a stronger say in company decisions. These shares are usually given to executives, management, founders or key stakeholders to retain control over the company. In some cases, one class A stock can be converted to multiple class B stocks, making them more valuable.

BACKGROUND- Sasco’s subsidiary inked a definitive agreement for the acquisition inJanuary. This came after signing an MoU in August 2024, in which Investments and Equipment increased the capital of Tadbeer from 20 mn to 100 mn via the class upgrade.

Market reax: Sasco’s share price rose 10% to SAR 65.15 on Thursday’s close.

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