Saudi financier may take stake in Sky Global
Financial Times; Nov 17, 2000
Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, the Saudi financier, has emerged as the latest
potential investor in Sky Global, the satellite television business which
Rupert Murdoch is planning to spin off from his media empire.
Prince Alwaleed, who already has a 3 per cent shareholding in News Corp,
was planning to meet Mr Murdoch yesterday to discuss the possibility of
taking a direct stake in Sky Global.
If the prince commits to an investment it would offer a welcome boost to Mr
Murdoch's ambitions of creating a global satellite television business by
taking control of DirecTV, the US television business currently controlled by
General Motors.
Speaking after an awards dinner in New York on Wednesday, the prince
said he was interested in investing in Sky Global.
"I am meeting (Mr Murdoch) to discuss the potential of us being part of that
venture," he said.
"If you look at the empire that Mr Murdoch has built across Europe, Asia,
the Middle East and Australia, DirecTV sits very well in that strategy."
If the prince invests in Sky Global he will become the second backer for the
venture after Liberty Media, the group run by John Malone, which took a
stake in News Corp earlier this year.
Mr Murdoch is also thought to be in discussions with Microsoft about an
investment in Sky Global.
However, an attempt to lure Vivendi Universal, the communications group,
as a strategic investor failed earlier this week.
Mr Murdoch has previously suggested that he would like to attract financial
as well as strategic backers for Sky Global. Prince Alwaleed is an obvious
partner as he is already an investor with Mr Murdoch in Kirch, the German
media group.
The prince, whose portfolio is estimated to be worth more than Dollars
20bn, has a reputation for making substantial investments in businesses
that he sees as undervalued. However, his portfolio has recently been hit by
the downturn in technology, telecoms and internet stocks.
On Wednesday the prince said he would be sticking with and possibly
adding to his internet investments including America Online, Amazon and
eBay, but was unlikely to invest in any new internet companies. He also
reaffirmed the view that Priceline, which has seen its shares plunge in
recent months, would survive.
An investment in Sky Global by the prince could help to place a value on
the business ahead of its initial public offering, which has been postponed
until next year. |
