Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund disclosed on Monday that it had acquired an 8.2% stake in Carnival Corporation & plc, operator of Carnival Cruise line, as of March 26, according to reports.
The investment represents a different strategy for the PIF, targeting a troubled industry heavyweight during an uncertain time at a bargain price.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
The news of the investment yesterday sent Carnival’s stock soaring 20%, but that increase was still below the purchase price made by the PIF. According to Bloomberg, the Kingdom’s 8.2% stake was acquired at a price of $17.82. Yesterday, after the bump in price, the stock ended the day at $10.21., and is currently trading at last check at $12.15.
In late January 2018, the stock was trading at $71.
Saudi Arabia’s massive sovereign wealth fund has invested in Uber and Tesla. In June, the PIF’s assets were estimated by the Institute of International Finance at about $300 billion.
In December, the PIF launched ‘Jada’, a fund of funds worth $1.07 billion to invest in SMEs (including startups). Jada will be making investments in other venture capital and private equity funds.
