Chairman of the Kingdom Holding Company Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, whose investment firm is one of the biggest stakeholders in Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., said he is looking to expand his alliances with the media giant. He met with News Corp.'s chief executive Rupert Murdoch on Jan. 14 in a meeting that “touched upon future potential alliances with News Corp.,” according to a statement released by his Kingdom Holding Co. late Saturday. Media reports have indicated that News Corp, parent to Fox News and Dow Jones and amp; Co., among others, may be thinking of buying a stake in Alwaleed's Rotana Media Group, which includes a number of satellite channels that air in the Middle East. Neither company has commented publicly on the possible deal, but the talks offer an indication yet that such an agreement may yet be in the offing. Kingdom Holding's statement said Alwaleed is already the second largest stakeholder in News Corp., with 5.7 percent of the shares of the media company. The stake is held through Kingdom Holding, in which Alwaleed holds a 95 percent stake. The investment company has a diverse portfolio, ranging from hotels to shares in Apple, eBay and Citigroup. Alwaleed, and the investment firm, were hit hard by the global meltdown. He has since focused on shoring up borrowing power, in part through a recent decision to transfer $180 million of his shares in Citigroup to Kingdom Holding. In a statement last week, he described the move – valued at about $600 million – as key to facilitating future borrowing and growth. He also met last week with Citigroup's chief executive Vikram Pandit, according to a statement by Kingdom Holding e-mailed Sunday. Alwaleed told Pandit that the “honeymoon is now over,” a clear indication that one of the banking giant's largest investors wants solid results this year, according to a transcript of an interview that aired Thursday on Fox Business News. “I told him that clearly the market gave you two years leeway, but I think now it's time to deliver,” Alwaleed said. “And 2010 is really for him is year to make it or break it, and he has to deliver. “ Alwaleed raised his stake in Citigroup to 5 percent in late 2008 from less than 4 percent in a move that came as the company was facing a possible collapse. Kingdom Holding says Alwaleed is the single largest shareholder in Citigroup. Alwaleed's Rotana already has an alliance with News Corp. In 2008, the two companies teamed up to bring Fox Movies to the Arab world and then last year, Rotana and Fox International Channels signed a multi-year output deal with The Walt Disney Co. to provide a range of programing to viewers in the Middle East, according to the statement by Kingdom Holding. Alwaleed has also been meeting with officials in Abu Dhabi. A statement by Kingdom Holding said he met with senior officials in Abu Dhabi, which holds the presidency of the United Arab Emirates.
