Kingdom Holding led a group of investors to purchase a stake valued at 1.5 billion riyals (Rs 2,173 crore) in 360buy, the Saudi company said in an e-mailed statement on Saturday, without providing details about the other investors. Kingdom Holding’s investment was about $125 million, which was financed by debt, and Qatar’s QInvest LLC advised on the deal.
Prince Alwaleed, the world’s 14th-richest person, and Kingdom Holding have been investing in e-commerce and technology companies as demand for internet based services increases. The prince invested $300 million in microblogging service Twitter Inc in 2011 and holds stakes in companies such as Apple Inc and News Corp.
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“This deal is in line with Kingdom Holding’s private- equity investment strategy through selecting high-growth companies potentially seeking to be listed in one of the international capital markets within three years,” said Ahmed Halawani, executive director of private equity and international investment at Kingdom Holding, said in the statement.
360buy, which sells products ranging from home appliances to books in the world’s largest Internet market, offers more than seven million products through its business-to consumer direct sales and online marketplace platform, according to the statement.
The company, which describes itself as an “online shopping mall,” raised $1.5 billion in venture financing in 2011.
Prince Alwaleed, who holds 95 per cent of Riyadh-based Kingdom Holding, has a net worth of $29 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His fortune has surged $8.5 billion since April 2012 as Kingdom Holding shares almost doubled in value.