Saudi Aramco’s $12 billion secondary share offering sold out shortly after the deal opened on Sunday, Bloomberg reported.

The books were covered in the price range of 26.7 ($7.12) to 29 riyals within "a few hours after the books opened", the news agency said.  

The Saudi government announced a secondary share sale on May 31 to raise as much as $13.1 billion.

The government could raise $12 billion by offering about 1.545 billion Aramco shares, equivalent to about 0.64% of the company, if it prices the sale at the top end of the range, Reuters reported.

The deal’s value could rise to $13.1 billion at the top end under a so-called greenshoe option which would allow the sale of nearly 1.7 billion shares, or a 0.7% stake, the news agency added.  

Aramco paid dividends to nearly $98 billion last year, compared to $75 billion paid annually.  

The government owns nearly 82% of Aramco, while the Public Investment Fund, the kingdom’s wealth fund, holds another 16% stake. 

The offer is part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to raise cash to fill a budget deficit, Bloomberg said.

(Editing by Seban Scaria Seban.scaria@lseg.com)