Saudi's Kingdom, Alwaleed buy $500m in GM IPO

Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and his Kingdom Holding Co bought $500m of General Motors Co shares through the automaker’s initial public offering.

The one percent stake in Detroit-based GM was acquired because of “the global strength of General Motors brand, the relatively attractive offering price, and the company’s growth prospects in Brazil and China,” the Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based company said on Tuesday in an e-mailed statement.

GM’s owners, including the US Treasury, sold shares at $33 each in an initial public offering on November17.

The automaker had filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 3 to offer the shares for $26 to $29 each.

The company raised more than $20bn in common and preferred shares through the IPO, which reduced the US government to a minority shareholder.

Kuwait Investment Authority, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, decided against buying GM shares after the sale price was raised, a person familiar with the matter said November 21.

Noreen Pratscher, a spokeswoman for GM, said she couldn’t immediately comment.