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PIF to acquire 54% stake in MBC Group for $2bn

By Pramod Kumar
MBC is one of the largest media and entertainment companies in the Mena region, operating 13 free-to-air television channels Unsplash.com
MBC is one of the largest media and entertainment companies in the Mena region, operating 13 free-to-air television channels

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has agreed to acquire a 54 percent stake in MBC Group for SAR7.5 billion ($2 billion).

The fund will buy Istedamah Holding Company’s entire stake through a private transaction priced at SAR41.60 per share, MBC Group said in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange on Sunday.

The transaction is subject to several conditions, including obtaining the necessary approvals and non-objections from the relevant entities.

The negotiated deal will be executed as per the Saudi Exchange’s (Tadawul) trading and membership procedures.

In March, MBC Group, through its arm MBC Ventures, purchased four million ordinary shares of the Nasdaq-listed Anghami.

MBC is one of the largest media and entertainment companies in the Middle East and North Africa, operating 13 free-to-air television channels as well as the streaming platform Shahid. Its content reaches 150 million people every week.

The Saudi group’s initial public offering of a 10 percent stake was 17.6 times oversubscribed by retail investors, raising SAR1.46 billion in January.

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