Saudi Arabia’s PIF owns €50 million stake in Hong Kong’s Extreme E, is key backer of world’s electric racing leagues
- Filings show desert kingdom has pumped tens of millions of dollars into next generation of motorsports
- PIF holds all the preferred A ordinary shares, equating to 55 per cent of the total share value at Extreme E Hong Kong Holdings Ltd
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has pumped tens of millions of dollars into electric racing leagues, backing tournaments for cars, SUVs and boats as part of its push to build media influence and green credentials.
The kingdom’s US$700 billion sovereign wealth fund owns significant stakes in racing entrepreneur Alejandro Agag Longo’s Formula E Holdings Ltd, off-road electric SUV racing start-up Extreme E, and electric hydrofoil series E1, filings show.
Hong Kong is expected to host the E1 World Championship in November in Victoria Harbour, and UK accounts show that PIF owns 50 per cent of the total number of shares in Electric Sea Racing Ltd, known as E1.
As of January 2023, PIF also holds 5.5 per cent of Hong Kong-based Formula E’s B-preferred shares and 9.6 per cent of its ordinary shares, according to company accounts, worth €6.3 million (US$6.9 million). It acquired the shares in February 2020.
At Extreme E Hong Kong Holdings Ltd, the SUV-racing sport’s parent company, PIF holds all the preferred A ordinary shares, equating to 55 per cent of the total share value as of September 2023. That stake is worth €50 million, according to another filing.
The investments underscore how the PIF is becoming an almost ubiquitous investor across sport, from golf to soccer to boxing, a trend that shows the nation pushing to build cultural influence and a post-oil economy.
The country could be a valuable source of future investment for the Formula E series, an all-electric alternative to Formula One, said Jeff Dodds, the Formula E CEO.
Formula E’s biggest owners, Warner Bros Discovery Inc and Liberty Global Plc, are open to strategic investors to speed up the franchise’s development and tap into new audiences and geographical territories following the start of its 10th season this month, he said in an interview at the company’s London headquarters.
“If they’re interested in investing in sport, sustainability and innovation, and we have a great relationship with them, obviously we would have conversations with them,” Dodds said of Saudi Arabia. The championship’s next two races are scheduled for the Saudi city of Diriyah.
A representative for the PIF declined to comment.
