Saudi wealth fund takes stake in grocer ahead of potential IPO

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund acquired a 30 per cent stake in Tamimi Markets Co. for an undisclosed sum in a deal that would precede a potential IPO in the grocery chain, according to a statement.

The Public Investment Fund, or PIF as it’s known, agreed to buy new shares in Tamimi to help finance the company’s plans to expand in the Middle East. The Tamimi family, which fully owned the company until the PIF investment, founded the supermarket chain in 1979 after branching out from servicing the oil and manufacturing industry, according to the grocer’s website.

The investment shows the growing role of the wealth fund, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in Saudi Arabia’s economy. It has taken stakes in established firms from power plant developers to construction companies, while also establishing more than 77 new companies as it tries to diversify the kingdom’s oil dependent economy.