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Saudi billionaire prince to sell 16.87 percent of firm to sovereign fund

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A file photo dated 24 May 2009 shows Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal visiting the Al-Walid group-funded resident complex for the people who were affected by a landslide at al-Dhafeer village in Sana" a="" Yemen.="" Yahya="" EPA-EFE="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/overseas/05/23/al-waleed.jpg"/><figcaption>A file photo dated 24 May 2009 shows Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal visiting the Al-Walid group-funded resident complex for the people who were affected by a landslide at al-Dhafeer village in Sana&#x27;a province, Yemen.<em> Yahya Arhab, EPA-EFE/File</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>RIYADH - A Saudi billionaire detained in a 2017 anti-graft crackdown is to sell a 16.87-percent stake of his company to a sovereign wealth fund run by the kingdom&#x27;s crown prince, a statement said Sunday. </p><p>The sale by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal of 625 million shares of the Riyadh-headquartered Kingdom Holding Company is worth roughly $1.5 billion, according to a regulatory filing published by the Saudi stock exchange, or Tadawul. </p><p>The company owns the famed George V hotel in Paris and has a majority stake in The Savoy in London, according to a breakdown of its portfolio on its website. </p><p>Al-Waleed, once dubbed the Warren Buffett of Saudi Arabia, struggled to recover his political and financial standing in the kingdom after he was targeted and detained in a crackdown on alleged corruption in 2017.</p><p>He was rounded up with more than 300 other prominent Saudis in the anti-graft campaign and held at the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton. </p><p>Critics have said the move was a power grab by Al-Waleed&#x27;s cousin Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who had been named heir to the throne just a few months earlier. </p><p>In January 2018, Al-Waleed was freed, gaunt but seemingly unharmed, after nearly three months in detention. </p><p>He declared the ordeal a misunderstanding that had been cleared up, as news swirled that he had reached an undisclosed financial settlement with authorities in return for his freedom. </p><p>Crown Prince Mohammed is chair of the sovereign wealth fund, known as the Public Investment Fund, which is at the heart of Saudi Arabia&#x27;s efforts to end its reliance on oil.</p><p>More recently, Al-Waleed has sparred with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk over his bid to buy Twitter. </p><p>When Musk unveiled his bid in April, Al-Waleed was among the investors who spoke out against it, saying it did not reflect Twitter&#x27;s &quot;intrinsic value... given its growth prospects&quot;. </p><p>But in early May, Al-Waleed changed his tune, with a filing saying he had agreed to contribute about 35 million Twitter shares worth $1.9 billion so as to retain a stake in the company post-acquisition. </p><p>The Twitter bid has since been put on hold as Musk demands proof of the number of Twitter spam accounts.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/03/04/22/saudi-crown-prince-says-israel-potential-ally">Saudi Crown prince says Israel &#x27;potential ally&#x27;</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/10/25/21/ex-spy-claims-saudi-prince-sent-death-squad-to-kill-him">Ex-spy claims Saudi prince sent death squad to kill him</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/10/06/18/saudi-crown-prince-says-sovereign-wealth-fund-will-surpass-600b-target">Saudi crown prince says sovereign wealth fund will surpass $600B target</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/02/14/22/80-billion-in-aramco-shares-moved-to-saudi-sovereign-fund">$80 billion in Aramco shares moved to Saudi sovereign fund</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1848836" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

A Saudi billionaire detained in a 2017 anti-graft crackdown is to sell a 16.87-percent stake of his company to a sovereign wealth fund run by the kingdom's crown prince, a statement said Sunday. 