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NCB invites banks to pitch for IPO adviser role

Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank (NCB) has invited banks to pitch for the adviser role on its highly-anticipated flotation on the kingdom’s bourse, it said on Thursday.

The Saudi government said last month it planned to sell a 15 per cent stake in the kingdom’s largest lender to the public this year, a long-awaited move which is likely to result in one of the biggest initial public offerings (IPOs) ever seen in the Gulf region.

For investment banks in the kingdom, the share sale is a must-have mandate to be working on and they were invited by NCB to pitch for the adviser role on the transaction earlier this week, banking sources said.

“A request for proposals (RFP) was sent to a select number of authorised persons to act as the financial advisor for the IPO process as per Capital Market Authority requirements,” said NCB in a statement, referring to the Saudi regulator.

“Once the selection is made, the selected financial advisor will be announced.”

A decision on which bank will work on the IPO is expected soon, given that the government wants to sell the stake before the year end, said one banker who has seen the RFP.