Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) is reportedly in talks to buy ADES International, an oil and gas drilling and production services provider in the Middle East and North Africa. Since its establishment in 2002 by Egyptian businessman Mamdouh Abbas, ADES has grown to become Egypt's largest offshore drilling operator by number of rigs, with a growing presence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Algeria and ongoing penetration into new markets across the Middle East region. It became a listed company on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in June 2017. PIF is in preliminary talks to buy a 100 percent stake in ADES, sources with knowledge of the negotiations told local press on Sunday on condition of anonymity. EFG Hermes has been appointed as financial advisor for the acquisition deal, the sources said. ADES shareholders met last week with PIF officials to discuss the deal before the Saudi fund submit the biding offer, the sources added. PIF is seeking to diversify its investments since many of its businesses – mainly in oil sector – were negatively affected by the pandemic, the sources concluded.
