[ad_1]
Openair Frauenfeld is one of the biggest hip-hop events in Europe. Image: KEYSTONE
What Saudi Arabia now has to do with Openair Frauenfeld
The Saudis take advantage of the hour and invest in the losers of the running of the bulls. With their sovereign wealth fund, they are investing millions in Live Nation, the world’s largest concert organizer.
Without theaters, without musicals, without concerts, without festivals: the crisis of the crown hits the event industry hard. The courses of the listed concert organizers are plummeting. Shares of Live Nation, the world’s largest event company, were still valued at $ 70 a share in January. Then he went downstairs. Meanwhile, the value of a share was less than $ 30.
Falling share prices: the ideal investment opportunity. That’s what Saudi leaders must have thought when they used their sovereign wealth fund to buy 13.3 million shares of Live Nation worth more than $ 500 million. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) is now Live Nation’s third largest shareholder with a 5.7 percent stake. The US entertainment giant confirmed the investment on Monday in a message to the US stock market regulator SEC. Live Nation’s share price rose approximately ten percent after the announcement.
Concerts and festivals in Switzerland
The head of the PIF sovereign wealth fund is Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. He is accused of serious violations of human rights. Among other things, it is associated with the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. How’s that going with a concert organizer who also brings stars like Alicia Keys, Sting or Guns N ‘Roses to the stage in Switzerland?
Live Nation has been active in the Swiss entertainment world for several years. In 2017, the American company took over Openair Frauenfeld, one of the largest hip-hop festivals in Europe. They also play concerts in the largest Swiss stadiums. In late 2018, the group bought the small Zurich concert agency Mainland.
According to the Handelszeitung, the Saudis are unlikely to have a voice in the live concert or festival program in Switzerland in the future. Sovereign Wealth Fund chief Yasir Al-Rumayyan said the engagement at Live Nation is just a passive investment. However, it is questionable how the strict regime of Crown Prince Mohammed affects the image of Live Nation.
The fact is, the $ 500 million investment in the concert organizer is not the first bin Salman prank that has caused a stir in recent weeks. The Saudis have attacked the victims of the closure several times, including the process of swallowing the Premier League soccer club Newcastle United. The deal not only caused problems for soccer fans. Human rights defenders have also intervened in the dispute. The Premier League has been reviewing the records of the Newcastle sale for weeks. So far, no further comments have been made. (Red)
As you have traveled here, we assume that you like our journalistic offer. As you may know, we recently decided not to introduce a watson login requirement. There will also be no payment barriers with us. We do not want to create any obstacles to accessing Watson because we believe that in a democracy everyone should be able to obtain information easily and at any time. If you still want to support us with a small amount, please do so here.
