NEW YORK: Kingdom Holding Co, the investment company of Prince Alwaleed Talal, raises its stake in Citigroup Inc to 2.2% after buying a US$450mil stake from the Saudi billionaire.

Kingdom previously owned a 1.63% holding in the Wall Street firm, according to a Saudi stock market filing yesterday, which didn’t give further details.

Alwaleed is one of the highest profile Saudi investors after taking stakes in companies such as Citigroup and Apple.

He has supported Crown Prince Mohammed Salman’s modernisation efforts.

Alwaleed’s relationship with Citigroup dates back to 1991, when he invested US$590mil to become the bank’s largest shareholder.

His stature on the global investment stage has faded since 2017, when he was imprisoned along with hundreds of other businessmen and officials as part of the crown prince’s anti-corruption drive, though no formal charges were ever presented.

He was released after 83 days in Riyadh’s Ritz Carlton hotel.

Neither he nor the government disclosed details of the agreement, which Alwaleed described as a “confirmed understanding”.

 - Bloomberg