Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has been all over the business news this week. First with him selling stakes to a major American news company, and then him reiterating his support for Citigroup’s CEO.
REUTERS/Fahad Shadeed
On Tuesday, the Prince announced his Middle East entertainment giant Rotana Group was selling a 9 percent stake to media tycoon Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. This was a big surprise for many business watchers, since Murdoch’s newspapers and news stations are believed to be pro-Israel and Prince Alwaleed comes from the staunch Islamic Saudi royal family.
Alwaleed acknowledged that difference in a press conference. “It’s not only Fox [News Channel] that in general is against the Arab world. It’s an American syndrome,” he said. “We will always do our best to lower that tone.”
Perhaps what Murdoch is thinking is a way to gain audiences in the Middle East.
“A stake in Rotana expands our presence in a region with a young and growing population where GDP growth is set to outstrip that of more developed economies in the years ahead,” James Murdoch, Rupert’s son and chief executive for News Corp in Europe and Asia, said in a statement.
Murdoch and the Prince have been business partners to some extent for a while. Alwaleed has acquired a 7 percent stake in News Corporation through his Kingdom Holdings, a global investment firm.
On Saturday, Prince Alwaleed was in the news again, albeit briefly. As a major investor in Citigroup, he showed his support for its CEO Vikram Pandit. The bank has been suffering major losses based on risky investments and failing consumer loans.
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