Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) and Austria’s Borealis AG are exploring strategic options for their plastics joint venture Borouge, including a possible initial public offering (IPO) in 2022, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The sources noted that no final decision had been made regarding the options. They added that ADNOC and Borealis are also considering other alternatives to an IPO without elaborating further. ADNOC, Borealis, and Borouge have yet to comment regarding the report.
ADNOC is seeking ways to raise money from its assets to help the UAE’s economic diversification efforts. Since the middle of last year, the company has raised around $15 billion from selling leasing rights over pipelines and other assets to investors such as Apollo Global Management Inc and Brookfield Asset Management Inc. In October, ADNOC and its Dutch partner OCI NV raised $795 million from the IPO of their Middle Eastern fertilizer venture Fertiglobe Holding. ADNOC also listed its drilling unit in another IPO in early October.
