RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), chaired by HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, led a consortium of investors advised by QInvest LLC, Qatar's leading investment bank, for the acquisition of a strategic stake in 360buy Jingdong Inc. for the value of $400 Million. The investment by KHC in this deal was approximately $125 Million.

Eng. Ahmed Halawani, KHC Executive Director, Private Equity and International Investments commented: "This deal confirms KHC's expertise to seek rewarding global investment opportunities, and to capitalize on them in light of their potential IRR in order to extract value for KHC shareholders."

Eng. Halawani added: "This deal is also in line with Kingdom Holding's private equity investment strategy through selecting high growth companies potentially seeking to be listed in one of the international capital markets within three years. The deal also reflects international companies' confidence in Kingdom Holding and the strategic role it plays in adding real value to their shareholders base."

Prince Alwaleed commented saying: "Our deal solidifies the strategic relationship between Saudi Arabia and China. The acquisition is also an extension of the initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to support the business alliance between Saudi Arabia and The People's Republic of China. This was highlighted during the visit of the Chinese President Hu Jintao to Saudi Arabia. We are also pleased to fortify our investment and business ties with QInvest."

The founder and CEO of 360buy Jingdong Inc., Richard Liu said, "We appreciate Kingdom's support and we look forward to a long lasting and constructive relationship."

This acquisition is in line with Kingdom Holding's diversified and unique investment strategy following Prince Alwaleed and Kingdom Holding's combined investment of $300 Million in Twitter.

KHC has a presence in China via Citibank. Moreover, HRH's investment in the entertainment sector in China includes Disneyland Hong Kong and in the hotel sector via Four Seasons Hotels and Fairmont Raffles Hotel.

In April 2006, Prince Alwaleed had met with the Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Royal Guest Palace in Riyadh during his official visit to Saudi Arabia.

About Kingdom Holding Company:
Founded in 1980, KHC is a publicly traded company which was listed on Tadawul (the Saudi Stock Exchange) in 2007. KHC is one of the world's most successful and diversified business organizations, highly respected in the field of investments and recognized as an elite player in the Arabian Gulf region, and internationally. KHC's portfolio has its main interest in landmark hotel properties and hotel management companies, real estate development in Jeddah and Riyadh, financial services, technology and media, manufacturing, aviation and agriculture.

About 360buy Jingdong Inc.:
360buy Jingdong Inc. is the largest B2C direct sales e-commerce company in China (source: iResearch). The Company has achieved more than 150% annually compounded growth in gross merchandise volume during past several years and strives to offer the best online shopping experience to its customers. It currently offers more than 7 million SKUs through its B2C direct sales and online marketplace platform. The Company has established nationwide fulfillment capabilities and extensive last mile delivery network to provide superior customer experience. As of December 2012, the Company has six major fulfillment centers with 65 warehouses in 24 cities, as well as nearly 900 delivery stations in 360 cities. Through its 211 program, the Company offers speedy delivery in 23 major cities and 24 hours delivery in 156 cities in China. Their active uses are 35 million and registered users 80 million as of December 2012.

Contact:
Kingdom Holding Company
1111-211-1-966+ 
www.KINGDOM.com 
media@kingdom.com.sa

SOURCE Kingdom Holding Company