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INVESTMENT WATCH-
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) has signed an MoU with Mumtalakat — Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund — in a bid to boost the investments of the PIF and the Saudi private sector in Manama, according to a joint statement yesterday. No further information was provided. PIF launched a Saudi-Bahraini Investment Company last year with a capital of USD 5 bn.
M&A WATCH-
#1- Seera Group Holding offloaded 1.25 mn of its shares in Uber amounting in a SAR 380 mn transaction as part of the company’s drive to maximize returns for its shareholders, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul yesterday. The company has made a gain of SAR 164.6 mn from the transaction.The group’s ownership in Uber was a result of Uber’s acquisition of Careem in 2019 — Careem was part of Seera’s portfolio then.
Seera is a big player in the travel and tourism industry, holding car rental player Lumi, leading travel player Almosafer, and hotels in Jeddah, Riyadh, and Makkah.
#2- Ayyan Investment has hired Alinma Bank as a financial advisor for the sale of Al-Ahsa Medical Services Companyto Dallah Healthcare Company, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul.
#3- Saudi Cable Company is planning to exit its Turkey investments to trim losses, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul. The decision is subject to regulatory approvals.
MANUFACTURING-
#1- Saudi Paper Manufacturing (SPM) has inked a SAR 300 mn non-binding agreement with Italian paper firm TOSCOTEC to procure a production line with a capacity of 60k tons annually to help boost its paper exports, Argaam reported yesterday. The funds will be channeled from SPM’s revenues and bank loans, it added. The new line will help bring the paper manufacturer’s total capacity to 250k tons annually.
#2- Saudia Technic signed a MoU with French defense electronics maker Thales to set up a regional hub in Saudi for the repair of avionics, it said in a post on X yesterday. It did not provide further details on the center. Saudia Technic is the aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul (or “MRO, in industry-speak) subsidiary of national flag carrier Saudia Group.
ALSO- Saudia Technic inked a maintenance agreement with the PIF-owned The Helicopter Company (THC) to conduct aircraft maintenance checks (or as industry-speaks: “D checks”) of THC’s helicopter fleet, it said in a post on X.
REAL ESTATE-
The National Housing Company (NHC) and Egypt’s leading real estate developer Talaat Moustafa Group launched Riyadh’s new smart residential city Banan, state news agency SPA reported yesterday. The project will be home to over 27k residential units across a project area of 10mn sqm. 40% of the project area will be allocated for vast green spaces, with the development also including healthcare, education and sports facilities among others. The project’s investment cost is estimated at SAR 40 bn (c. USD 10.7 bn), TMG said last year.
