Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is “set to acquire a majority stake” in Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal SFC from the PIF, marking “the next stage of the kingdom’s privatization efforts for its local league.” The deal values Al-Hilal at $373.2M according to a statement. The prince’s conglomerate Kingdom Holding Co. is “set to own 70% of the club after regulatory approvals,” and the PIF will remain a minority shareholder. The $1T wealth fund also owns a stake in Kingdom Holding. The PIF holds an ownership stake in three other clubs of the Saudi Pro League, which it also “plans to sell.” It has been “shifting its domestic sports investment strategy,” and the Al-Hilal deal comes a day after PIF Gov. Yasir Al-Rumayyan said that “it had fulfilled its targets in local football club holdings” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 4/16).
The sale comes amid “scrutiny over the PIF’s investment in LIV Golf,” with the Saudi sovereign wealth fund “set to pull its funding for the rebel golf league” after just four years, having pumped “more than” $5B into the project in a bid to “overthrow the sport.” But amid the Iran conflict, it is suggested the PIF is “reassessing its financial priorities, hence the decision to abandon LIV Golf which has reportedly lost billions over the years” (London INDEPENDENT, 4/16).
