DUBAI - Abu Dhabi's ADNOC raised $317 million in an institutional placement of a 3% stake in its logistics and services unit through a bookbuild offering, it said on Thursday.

The United Arab Emirates state oil company said that it completed the pricing of a placement to institutional investors of approximately 222 million shares in ADNOC L&S at 5.25 dirhams ($1.43) per share, a discount of 3.3% compared to Thursday’s closing price of 5.43 dirhams.

The company added the offering drew “exceptional demand” from Gulf and international institutional investors, with around 7x oversubscription in a four-hour accelerated bookbuild, one of the region’s highest for a secondary sell-down.

The deal is expected to increase ADNOC L&S's free float to 22% and improve liquidity for the unit's shares, the company said.

Created in 2016, ADNOC L&S exports crude oil, refined products, dry bulk and liquefied natural gas from Abu Dhabi to more than 100 customers in over 50 countries.

ADNOC raised $769 million in 2023 with an initial public offering for the unit and now holds an 81% stake.

Other recent secondary offerings for ADNOC units include its gas business, which raised $2.84 billion in February in one the biggest share sales in the Middle East in recent years.

First Abu Dhabi Bank, JPMorgan and China International Capital Corporation were among banks appointed as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners for the offering. ($1 = 3.6726 UAE dirham)

(Reporting by Federico Maccioni and Luke Tyson, Additional Reporting by Enas Alashray and Yomna Ehab; Editing by Susan Fenton, Kirsten Donovan and Cynthia Osterman)