Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund bought a stake in Italian luxury car maker Pagani, which makes some of the most expensive supercars in the world and counts Mark Zuckerberg and Lionel Messi among its list of high-profile clients.
The Public Investment Fund will become a minority shareholder in Pagani upon completion of the deal, which remains subject to customary conditions, the company said on Thursday. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
As part of the long-term strategic partnership that will help Pagani in the next chapter of its growth plan, the PIF becomes a stakeholder alongside existing minority shareholders Nicola Volpi and Emilio Petrone, the company said.
Mark Zuckerberg reportedly bought a Pagani Huayra for $1.4m in 2014
The Pagani family, which founded the company in 1992, will remain majority shareholder, while Horacio Pagani, founder, chief executive and chief design officer, retains his leadership position.
"We are proud to announce an important partnership with PIF, a key step in our long-term growth strategy, which envisages significant investments to ensure that our next hypercars will keep conveying unique emotions, irrespective of their powertrain technology," Mr Pagani said.
"PIF represents the ideal partner to further consolidate Pagani positioning as a brand in the hypercars segment as well as to support its expansion strategy in the lifestyle segment."
The sovereign wealth fund is a central plank of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 plan that seeks to diversify the Arab world's largest economy and reduce its reliance on oil. The fund's investments in US publicly listed companies were valued at $15.94 billion at the end of the second quarter of this year. Under a five-year strategy that was announced in January, the fund aims to more than double the value of its assets under management to $1.07 trillion and commit $40bn annually to develop the kingdom's economy.
In 2018, Pagani which is based near Modena, Italy stunned car enthusiasts with its Pagani Zonda HP Barchetta that came with a $17.5 million price tag and dubbed it the world's most expensive sports car that year.
In addition to variations of its Pagani Huayra, which starts at list price of $2m, the company also creates special and one-off editions. Mr Zuckerberg reportedly bought a Pagani Huayra for $1.4m in 2014 before its price increased.
UBS Investment Bank acted as financial adviser to Pagani, while Withers Studio Legale was legal adviser to the selling shareholders. Rothschild & Co and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer acted as PIF’s financial and legal adviser.
'Midnights'
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Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
PSA DUBAI WORLD SERIES FINALS LINE-UP
Men’s:
Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
Ali Farag (EGY)
Simon Rosner (GER)
Tarek Momen (EGY)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Nick Matthew (ENG)
Women's:
Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
Laura Massaro (ENG)
Joelle King (NZE)
Camille Serme (FRA)
Nouran Gohar (EGY)
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Bio
Born in Dibba, Sharjah in 1972.
He is the eldest among 11 brothers and sisters.
He was educated in Sharjah schools and is a graduate of UAE University in Al Ain.
He has written poetry for 30 years and has had work published in local newspapers.
He likes all kinds of adventure movies that relate to his work.
His dream is a safe and preserved environment for all humankind.
His favourite book is The Quran, and 'Maze of Innovation and Creativity', written by his brother.
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
