Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), is set to acquire a majority stake of 54 per cent in MBC Group from the Ministry of Finance, represented by Istedamah Holding, for a total of $2B (SAR 7.5B).
MBC confirmed in a stock exchange announcement that Istedamah intends to transfer its full stake to PIF, covering 179.6 million shares at a price of SAR 41.60 each. The transfer remains subject to certain regulatory approvals and clearances.
This acquisition follows significant developments for MBC, which listed on the Saudi Exchange earlier this year, securing $222M through an initial public offering of a 10 per cent stake. The broadcaster also sold a 4.9 per cent share in its advertising division Arabian Contracting Services for SAR 417M and repaid a loan of nearly SAR 500M to Istedamah Holding.
Additionally, in May, MBC purchased an almost 14 per cent share in the music streaming platform Anghami through its MBC Ventures arm.
Concurrently, PIF continues to lead Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 economic transformation strategy under the guidance of Prime Minister and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Since 2017, the $925B fund has launched 95 new companies and generated over 644,000 direct and indirect jobs. PIF’s goal is to stimulate growth across emerging sectors and increase local content through strategic partnerships with private enterprises, with plans to inject at least SAR 150B into the national economy annually.
The sovereign fund achieved a profit of $36.81B (SAR 138.1B) in 2023, with total revenue surging to $88.3B from $44B in the previous year.
PIF’s investment portfolio spans diverse industries, from agriculture to global corporations, and its funding sources include retained earnings, government capital, asset transfers, and debt financing.
