Saudi’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Buys Stake in Kingdom Holding

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund bought shares in a company owned by billionaire Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal, further consolidating the government with a prominent investor who was arrested by the state on suspicion of corruption.

According to a filing with the Saudi Arabia Stock Exchange, the Public Investment Fund has agreed to pay $1.51 billion for a 16.9% stake in Kingdom Holding Company. It is based on the closing price on the last trading day before the transaction was announced.

Prince al-Waheed will still own a majority stake of 78.13% in Kingdom Holding, with 5% of the company listed on the exchange, the filing stated. An executive at PIF will join the board of the investment firm. The shares of the firm rose 10% in trading on Sunday.

The acquisition of PIF, whose de facto chairman is Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, deepens the relationship between the Saudi state and Crown Prince al-Waleed at a time when the investor has come back publicly after a few years of silence following his arrest.