Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends a signing ceremony following a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with Saudi Arabia's King Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 14, 2019. (Photo by Alexey NIKOLSKY / SPUTNIK / AFP) (Photo by ALEXEY NIKOLSKY/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
ALEXEY NIKOLSKY/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images
  • Saudi Arabia is talking to a "leading global energy company" about selling a 1% stake in oil producer Aramco, according to a CNBC report Wednesday.
  • Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman says the unnamed company is from a 'huge' country.
  • Saudi Aramco went public in December 2019 in the world's largest IPO.
  • See more stories on Insider's business page.

Saudi Arabia is in talks to sell a stake in oil producer Saudi Aramco to an unnamed global energy company, according to a CNBC report Wednesday.

Saudi Aramco had the world's biggest IPO when it went public in December 2019 and listed about 1.5% of its shares on Tadawul, the local stock exchange.

"I don't want to give any promises, but there's a discussion for the acquisition of a 1% stake by a leading global energy company," said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in an interview on Saudi television, according to a translation of his Arabic comments by CNBC.

He said the talks are being held with a company from a "huge" country but he did not name the company. Saudi Arabia owns more than 98% of shares in Aramco.

The crown prince said talks are being held with other companies and some Aramco shares could be transferred to Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund. Some shares may be listed on the Saudi market as well, according to the report.

Aramco raised $25.6 billion through its IPO then took in an additional $3.8 billion by selling more shares to investors.

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