Dec 20 2011 |
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Al Waleed firm buys Twitter stake
Tuesday, Dec 20, 2011
Gulf News
Dubai Saudi billionaire Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal and Kingdom Holding yesterday announced a $300-million (Dh1.101 billion) investment in social networking giant Twitter, as the Middle East’s most prominent investor expands a portfolio that already includes Apple and Newscorp.
In a statement yesterday, Prince Al Waleed said that the investment in Twitter, which is thought to be worth around $8 billion but is yet to launch an initial public offering (IPO), came after several months of negotiations and amounted to a “strategic stake” in the company.
“Our investment in Twitter reaffirms our ability in identifying suitable opportunities to invest in promising, high-growth businesses with a global impact,” he said.
“We believe that social media will fundamentally change the media industry landscape in the coming years. Twitter will capture and monetise this positive trend,” he said.
Trophy assets
Syed Hirsh, an analyst with Capital Economics in London, said that the deal represented a significant coup for Prince Al Waleed, as Twitter stock is not publicly traded. “These trophy assets are very difficult to get hold of, they are not listed, so he probably saw an opportunity and took it,” Hirsh said.
He added that the company did not represent “a traditional asset class that Arab investors are interested in”, but was in line with Al Waleed’s extensive media holdings as well as the prominence and supposed value of Twitter.
“It’s probably a natural progression to that side of the business. It certainly makes sense,” he said.
Shares in Kingdom Holding surged the most in nine months on the Saudi exchange yesterday, gaining 7 per cent to 8.40 Saudi riyals (Dh8.22). Reuters reported yesterday that while Al Waleed himself isn’t a known user of the networking tool, his celebrity-status wife has over 80,000 followers and applauded the move with a tweet.
By Orlando Crowcroft?Business News Editor
© Gulf News 2011. All rights reserved.
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