Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has reached an agreement with Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal to acquire a 16.87% stake in his investment company Kingdom Holding Co.
Under the arrangement, which was announced yesterday, the PIF will be purchasing 625 million shares at a price of $2.42 per share for a total of $1.51b. The transaction will take place on Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul stock exchange.
Prince Alwaleed is one of the kingdom’s most recognized business leaders with stakes in companies like Citigroup (C), News Corp (NWSA), Twitter (TWTR), and Snapchat (SNAP). He will retain a majority 78.13% stake in the investment company.
The PIF manages over $600b in assets and is a key piece of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plan to diversify the country’s economy away from oil.
Why it matters
The PIF picked a good time to make the acquisition. The agreed upon share price transaction was where the stock closed last Thursday, its lowest level in a year. After the news broke Sunday, it rallied nearly 9%.
