May 16, 2020DUBAI, May 16 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has purchased minority stakes in major U.S. companies including Boeing, Facebook and Citigroup, according to a U.S. regulatory filing.
PIF disclosed a $713.7 million stake in Boeing, around $522 million in Citigroup, a $522 million stake in Facebook, a $495.8 milllion stake in Disney and a $487.6 million stake in Bank of America, the Securities and Exchange filing on Friday showed. It also disclosed a small stake in Berkshire Hathaway.
PIF also disclosed an $827.7 million stake in oil company BP , which has American Depstory Receipts (ADRs) listed in the United States.
The $300 billion Saudi sovereign fund has been buying minority stakes in global companies, taking advantage of market weakness in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
PIF was not immediately available to comment.
Last month it disclosed an 8.2% stake in coronavirus-hit Carnival Corp< l, sending the cruise operator's shares nearly 30% higher.
The Saudi fund earlier this year bought stakes in Royal Dutch Shell, Total, Eni and Equinor, a source familiar with the transactions told Reuters on April 9.
PIF already has stakes in Uber Technologies and electric car company Lucid Motors.
(Reporting by Saeed Azhar and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Saudi Arabia Wealth Fund Buys Boeing, Citi, Disney Stakes
Pierre Paulden
Bloomberg May 16, 2020
(Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund said in April that it was looking into “any opportunity” arising from the economic wreckage of the coronavirus crisis. A regulatory filing Friday shows how the fund spent billions of dollars this year on stocks.
The $320 billion Public Investment Fund, which until five years ago was a holding company for government stakes in domestic businesses, disclosed an $827.8 million stake in BP Plc, a $713.7 million investment in Boeing Co. and $522 million positions in both Citigroup Inc. and Facebook Inc. at the end of the first quarter. Other bets include $495.8 million on Walt Disney Co. and $487.6 million on Bank of America Corp.
The PIF is looking into “any opportunity” arising from the economic wreckage of the crisis, the fund’s governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, said at a virtual event in April. The fund expects to see “lots of opportunities,” he predicted at the time, citing airlines, energy and entertainment companies as examples.
Behind the scenes, as coronavirus outbreaks disrupted commerce and drove stock prices to their lowest levels in years, the fund reassigned staff to find bargains to broaden its global portfolio, people familiar with the plan have said. The investments disclosed in a quarterly filing Friday amount to a bet that marquee names of the corporate world will rebound as many facets of life return to normal.
“PIF is a patient investor with a long-term horizon,” according to a statement from the fund. “We actively seek strategic opportunities both in Saudi Arabia and globally that have strong potential to generate significant long-term returns while further benefitting the people of Saudi Arabia and driving the country’s economic growth.”
Other holdings described by the fund include a $513.9 million investment in hotel owner Marriott International Inc. that’s even greater than the PIF’s previously disclosed wager on cruise operator Carnival Corp. Both companies are contending with a virtual shutdown in global travel. Similarly, the fund gathered a $416.1 million stake in concert promoter Live Nation Entertainment Inc., which faces bans on large gatherings.
The fund also amassed shares of Canadian oil sands players Suncor Energy Inc. and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., on top of investments that previously emerged in Equinor ASA, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA and Eni SpA. The regulatory filing disclosed the fund held almost $10 billion of U.S. equities, including an approximately $2 billion position in Uber Technologies Inc.
The bargain-hunting contrasted with retreats by the likes of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which previously announced a full exit from investments in four major U.S. airlines. On Friday, Berkshire also disclosed that it sold off most of a longtime investment in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and trimmed stakes in companies including JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Coincidentally, the fund bought a $78.4 million stake in Berkshire as well.
The PIF’s mandate was broadened in 2015 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to include international investments to support economic diversification.
(Updates with comment from PIF in fifth paragraph.)
SEE
https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/05/saudi-wealth-fund-builds-stakes-in.html
https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/05/saudi-wealth-fund-builds-stakes-in_16.html
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