PIF sells its stake in Saudi-listed LPG retailer for $131m

National Gas and Industrialization Company

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has completed the sale of its 10.92 percent stake, or 8.19 million shares, in National Gas and Industrialization Company, a Saudi-listed liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) retailer and distributor.

The sale was concluded through a private transaction for SAR491.19 million ($130.95 million), the PIF said in a statement. 

Jadwa Investment Company acted in its capacity as a manager and purchased the stake for its managed investment funds and its client portfolios.

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“This transaction comes as part of PIF’s strategy to recycle its capital by selling stakes in mature companies and reinvesting such proceeds in developing new and promising sectors in the local economy,” Eyas AlDossari, head of investment advisory in the Mena investments division at PIF, said.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation last week signed an agreement to sell its 100 percent stake in its steel manufacturing subsidiary to the PIF for SAR12.5 billion.

The final sale price for Saudi Iron & Steel Company (Hadeed) will be determined only on the deal closure date, which is expected to be before the end of Q1 2024.

PIF last month said gross assets under management (AUM) exceeded SAR2.23 trillion in 2022, rising 12.62 percent from the previous year.

However, the sovereign wealth fund reported a SAR58.54 billion comprehensive loss for 2022 after the fair value of its investments in SoftBank Vision Fund dropped and a market downturn hit other investments, mainly in the technology sector.

International investments made up 23 percent of its AUM, worth SAR512 billion, while 68 percent were local investments (SAR1.72 trillion).

The fund has locally deployed SAR120 billion in strategic sectors and established 25 companies in 2022.