Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), the investment firm led by Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, has indicated potential interest in investing in TikTok, contingent upon its acquisition by Elon Musk or another party, Reuters reported. “We would be interested in investing in ByteDance’s TikTok if Elon Musk or others offered to buy it,” CEO Talal Ibrahim al-Maiman told Al Arabiya TV on Wednesday.
This development follows ongoing discussions regarding the sale of TikTok’s US operations due to national security concerns. President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order delaying the enforcement of a ban on the app by 75 days, allowing more time for a potential sale.
KHC already holds stakes in Musk’s social media platform X and his artificial intelligence startup xAI. Additionally, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), holds a minority stake in KHC, with 5% of the company floated on the Saudi stock exchange.
On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, al-Maiman also mentioned that low-cost Saudi airline flynas, in which KHC has substantial shares, are in the final stages of obtaining approval from the Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA) for a public listing.
Al-Maiman stated that KHC is not currently looking into cryptocurrency investments, aligning with investor Warren Buffett’s philosophy: “We support Mr Buffett’s theory—what you don’t buy with, don’t invest in.”
