Saudi wealth fund to take $185m Jordanian bank stake

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund will take a $185m stake in Capital Bank of Jordan as part of deal to help the lender expand.

The Public Investment Fund signed a subscription agreement that would involve it buying 63 million newly issued shares to give it a 23.97 per cent stake in the Jordanian bank, according to a statement.

#PIF and Capital Bank Group announce the signing of a subscription agreement for approximately USD185 million, through which PIF will become a strategic investor with a 23.97% stake in Capital Bank Group upon completion of the deal.

Learn more: https://t.co/WBrYw3FeL8 pic.twitter.com/Km3C1EisGD

— Public Investment Fund (@PIF_en) June 5, 2022

The deal would raise Capital Bank’s shareholders’ equity to about $846m, helping to fund an expansion strategy in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and to grow its investment arm.

Capital Bank’s shares jumped as much as 4.6 per cent and were trading up 2.1 per cent at 2.90 dinars at 11.08am on Sunday.

The PIF, as the $620bn wealth fund is known, has ambitions to become a global powerhouse.

Run by Governor Yasir Al Rumayyan, a close ally of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, its investing domestically to help diversify the Saudi economy and building an international portfolio that can give the country an income beyond crude sales.

It established the Saudi Jordanian Investment Fund with 16 Jordanian banks in 2017. The fund has capital of $3bn to invest in Jordan.