DUBAI: National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) and a local pension fund will buy a 51.6-percent stake in Bahrain Islamic Bank (BIB) from its Kuwaiti owner in the latest consolidation move in the island kingdom's banking sector.
Bahrain's central bank has encouraged its lenders to consolidate as it seeks to rebuild the sector which has been hit by two years of social unrest.
Central bank Gov. Rasheed Al-Maraj said last week that he expected to see at least one merger in the non-OPEC country without disclosing any names. Al-Maraj, speaking at a conference, said the regulator would also require domestic banks to take more steps to ensure their soundness.
As part of the deal, NBB and Social Insurance Organization Asset Management Company, a unit of pension fund Social Insurance Organization, will each take a 25.8-percent stake in Bahrain Islamic for 72 fils per share, according to an NBB statement.
They are buying the stake from Kuwait's Investment Dar and associated companies. Dar is selling assets as part of its debt restructuring. It sold a 37.5 percent stake in luxury carmaker Aston Martin to Italian private equity fund Investindustrial late in December.
The deal is at a near 3-percent premium to Bahrain Islamic's closing share price of 70 fils on Thursday. There are 1000 fils in a Bahraini dinar. Based on Bahrain Islamic's total outstanding shares, the value of the deal is about 34.9 million dinars ($ 92.57 million).
The transaction will provide NBB, the second largest lender by market value in the country, an opportunity to expand into Islamic banking
"We have been looking for an appropriate opportunity to establish a footprint in the Islamic banking industry and BisB represents a suitable vehicle for us," Abdul Razak Hassan Al-Qassim, NBB's chief executive said in a statement.
NBB operates 25 branches in the country. Bahrain Islamic is the oldest Islamic lender in the island kingdom.
Among other deals in the country's banking sector, Al Salam Bank said in January it was in merger talks with an unnamed regional bank, while Gulf Finance House said it was studying options to merge its unit, Khaleeji Commercial Bank, with other Bahraini banks.
NBB, pension fund to buy 51.6% stake in Bahrain Islamic Bank
NBB, pension fund to buy 51.6% stake in Bahrain Islamic Bank
PIF’s Humain invests $3bn in Elon Musk’s xAI prior to SpaceX acquisition
JEDDAH: Humain, an artificial intelligence company owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, invested $3 billion in Elon Musk’s xAI shortly before the startup was acquired by SpaceX.
As part of xAI’s Series E round, Humain acquired a significant minority stake in the company, which was subsequently converted into shares of SpaceX, according to a press release.
The transaction reflects PIF’s broader push to position Saudi Arabia as a central hub in the global AI ecosystem, as part of its Vision 2030 diversification strategy.
Through Humain, the fund is seeking to combine capital deployment with infrastructure buildout, partnerships with leading technology firms, and domestic capacity development to reduce reliance on oil revenues and expand into advanced industries.
The $3 billion commitment offers potential for long-term capital gains while reinforcing the company’s role as a strategic, scaled investor in transformative technologies.
CEO Tareq Amin said: “This investment reflects Humain’s conviction in transformational AI and our ability to deploy meaningful capital behind exceptional opportunities where long-term vision, technical excellence, and execution converge, xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by its acquisition by SpaceX, one of the largest technology mergers on record, represents the kind of high-impact platform we seek to support with significant capital.”
The deal builds on a large-scale collaboration announced in November at the US-Saudi Investment Forum, where Humain and xAI committed to developing over 500 megawatts of next-generation AI data center and computing infrastructure, alongside deploying xAI’s “Grok” models in the Kingdom.
In a post on his X handle, Amin said: “I’m proud to share that Humain has invested $3 billion into xAI’s Series E round, just prior to its historic acquisition by SpaceX. Through this transaction, Humain became a significant minority shareholder in xAI.”
He added: “The investment builds on our previously announced 500MW AI infrastructure partnership with xAI in Saudi Arabia, reinforcing Humain’s role as both a strategic development partner and a scaled global investor in frontier AI.”
He noted that xAI’s trajectory, further strengthened by SpaceX’s acquisition, exemplifies the high-impact platforms Humain aims to support through strategic investments.
Earlier in February, SpaceX completed the acquisition of xAI, reflecting Elon Musk’s strategy to integrate AI with space exploration.
The combined entity, valued at $1.25 trillion, aims to build a vertically integrated innovation ecosystem spanning AI, space launch technology, and satellite internet, as well as direct-to-device communications and real-time information platforms, according to Bloomberg.
Humain, founded in August, consolidates Saudi Arabia’s AI initiatives under a single entity. From the outset, its vision has extended beyond domestic markets, participating across the global AI value chain from infrastructure to applications.
The company represents a strategic initiative by PIF to diversify the Kingdom’s economy and reduce oil dependence by investing in knowledge-based and advanced technologies.
