Saudi billionaire Prince bin Talal has paid $300m to take a “strategic stake” in Twitter.
Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding investment vehicle has major stakes in groups including News Corp and Apple, and the new purchase gives the billionaire a stake in an online forum that was widely used by activists in this year’s Arab uprisings.
Commenting on the purchase, Alwaleed said: “The investment was the result of several months of negotiations.”
Prince Alwaleed stressed both the investment potential and growing clout of the microblogging site in announcing the purchase, which he said was part of a drive “to invest in promising, high-growth businesses with a global impact,” according to an emailed statement from Kingdom Holding Co., which he heads.
Alwaleed, ranked the richest Arab businessman this year by Arabian Business magazine, is the largest individual investor in Citigroup and his other investments include holdings in Apple Inc. and General Motors Co.
Riyadh-based Kingdom Holding jumped as much as 8.9 percent on the local exchange.
