Saudi Arabia Spends $500 Million for Stake in Live Nation

Live Nation’s stock has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Now, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, called the Public Investment Fund, has purchased a stake in the events company worth almost $500 million, The Hollywood Reporter reports.

The PIF bought a 5.7 percent stake, which amounts to around 12.3 million shares in the company, making it Live Nation’s third-largest shareholder. John Malone's Liberty Media owns a 33 percent stake in the company, making him the largest individual shareholder.

PIF’s investment increased Live Nation’s shares to $42.01 from $38.24 on Sunday. In February, before COVID-19 became a global health crisis, Live Nation’s shares were valued at more than $75. However, over the course of the last six weeks, virtually all concerts and events have been postponed around the world. The company, which is also the parent company of Ticketmaster, drew outrage after it rewrote its refund policy during the pandemic’s outset. However, Live Nation later figured out a plan to refund tickets for up to 18,000 events that were either postponed or canceled.

The dire situation led Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino to give up his $3 million annual salary, with top executives’ salaries also being cut up to 50 percent. The company is taking additional measures like instituting hiring freezes, rent renegotiations, and furloughs.

PIF’s stake in Live Nation follows its $775 million investment in Carnival Cruises, making Saudi Arabia the second-biggest stakeholder in the world’s largest cruise company. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been using PIF to diversify the country’s economy, instead of solely relying on oil.