Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is looking to own a stake in the kingdom’s biggest construction company, according to a Bloomberg report on Thursday.

The $700 billion sovereign wealth fund is coordinating with Morgan Stanley to come up with a potential offer to invest in Saudi Binladin Group, the news agency said, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

The fund is reportedly looking at buying a portion or the entire 36% share owned by the Ministry of Finance. The news agency reached out to Morgan Stanley and PIF for comment, but the two entities declined to issue a statement.

In 2020, the construction giant appointed Houlihan Lokey Inc to advise on a proposed $15 billion debt restructuring.

As of early 2021, the company owed SAR 32.9 billion ($8.8 billion) to over 50 lenders that include regional and international financial institutions.

(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)
(seban.scaria@lseg.com)