Saudi Arabian multinational petroleum and natural gas company Saudi Aramco has said it is still working on a deal to buy a stake worth $15 billion in the refining and chemicals business of India's Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).
“We are still in discussion with Reliance. The work is still on. We will update our shareholders in due course about the Reliance deal, ” Aramco Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser said on Sunday.
RIL's Chairman Mukesh Ambani, the world's fourth richest man, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with a total net worth of $80.6 billion, announced last year that Saudi Aramco will pick up a 20 percent stake in his company's refining and petrochemical business.
At a valuation of $75 billion, Saudi Aramco's planned investment is worth $15 billion.
However, Ambani told investors last month that the deal has not progressed according to the agreed timeline.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances in the energy market and the Covid-19 situation, the deal has not progressed according to the original timeline. Our equity requirements have already been met, "Ambani said last month. The deal was scheduled to be completed by March this year.
RIL has raised investment to the tune of $30 billion since April this year by selling stakes in its digital arm, Jio Platform, to global tech majors like Facebook, Google and a slew of other investors .
The company also raised funds via a rights issue, which essentially means selling shares to existing shareholders at a discount to raise funds. The exercise is aimed at turning the company net debt free, which has been achieved.