Home
News
In Focus
Business
Metro
Nation
World
Sports
Feature
Opinion
View more »Opinion Columns
Wan LixinOpinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily
Who are these people? Online false friends intrude upon our privacy
A proactive governance style adapted to a village of strangers in modern times
Sunday
- Subscribe
Small role in Tesla plan for Saudi fund
Print Edition
Elon Musk told investors this week that “obviously, the Saudi sovereign fund has more than enough capital needed” to finance taking Tesla private.
The fund is estimated to have over US$250 billion in assets. But it is not that simple.
The Public Investment Fund has many claims on its resources, both financial and political.
More than half of its assets are tied up in large Saudi companies whose stocks could be difficult to sell en masse.
The PIF has made substantial commitments to other technology companies or investments, including a US$45 billion agreement to invest in a giant tech fund led by Japan’s Softbank.
Then there’s US$3.5 billion invested in US ride-sharing firm Uber, the US$1 billion pumped into Virgin Group’s space ventures, and another US$20 billion tentatively committed to an infrastructure investment fund planned with Blackstone.
There is also pressure to spend money at home, where a slumping economy has driven unemployment among Saudi citizens to record highs.
“They could handle part of taking Tesla private, but not necessarily a large part of it and certainly not all of it,” a banker at a major Gulf firm operating in Saudi Arabia said.
Musk has not put a formal buyout proposal to Tesla’s board, the company said on Tuesday.
The Tesla CEO has said he does not believe he would need to raise the full US$72 billion value placed on Tesla by his US$420-a-share bid because he expects many existing shareholders – including himself with 20 percent of the company – to roll their shares into a private Tesla.
The Saudi PIF already holds about a 5 percent stake in Tesla.
Participation in a Tesla deal could bring Saudi Arabia closer to developing a domestic car industry or playing a role in Musk’s electric battery manufacturing or space activities.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
