bigsale
November 12th, 2007, 08:56 PM
Prince Alwaleed becomes first private buyer of A380
http://www.asiaone.com/A1MEDIA/travel/20071112.173654_toppix-a380princealwaleed.jpg
Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) - Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the Saudi billionaire who is Citigroup Inc.'s biggest individual investor, agreed to buy a $319 million Airbus SAS A380 superjumbo, becoming the first private customer for the world's biggest aircraft.
The purchase was announced by Toulouse, France-based Airbus at the Dubai Air Show today. Alwaleed, ranked the world's 13th-richest person by Forbes magazine, flew in from Saudi Arabia on his Boeing Co. 747.
Surging oil prices have helped boost sales of private jetliners in the Middle East. The double-deck A380, which seats 525 people in a standard airline configuration, can house three bedrooms, private lounges, bathrooms, offices, a steam bath and exercise machines in a so-called VIP set-up, according to Deutsche Lufthansa AG's maintenance arm, which outfits plane interiors.
Airbus, the world's biggest maker of commercial aircraft, expects to sell 30 to 35 VIP planes a year, with the Middle East accounting for as many as 40 percent of them, Richard Gaona, vice president for executive and private aviation, said in January. The company was in talks with two potential A380 customers, he said at the time.
Airbus began offering planes configured as business aircraft in 1999, initially focusing on the A319, normally a 124-seat jet. Since then, the company has doubled its annual sales of VIP planes and added larger models such as the widebody A330 and A340. Airbus has sold 80 private jets in total, Gaona said in January.
Burgeoning Market
Private aviation in the Middle East, the world's third- largest market after the U.S. and Europe, may grow 10-12 percent annually, doubling in value to about $800 million by 2012, Ali al-Naqbi, chairman of the Dubai-based Middle East Business Aviation Association, said Jan. 11.
Alwaleed's A380 will be powered by engines from Rolls- Royce Plc. While the plane has a list price of $319 million, the price he will pay was not disclosed.
The Saudi prince first invested in Citigroup, the world's largest bank, in 1991 and his Kingdom Holding Co. has a 4 percent stake worth at least $6.5 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Like Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman Warren Buffett, Alwaleed built his $25 billion fortune by taking holdings in undervalued brand-name companies.
The prince, a nephew of Saudi King Abdullah, began investing after graduating from California's Menlo College in 1979. A year later, he received a $300,000 loan from Saudi American Bank, which was run by Citicorp, according to his authorized biography "Alwaleed: Businessman, Billionaire, Prince," written by Al-Jazeera International host Riz Khan.
In 1991, the prince invested $590 million in Citigroup predecessor Citicorp, which needed cash as it struggled with Latin American loan losses and a collapse in U.S. property.
Source: http://www.asiaone.com/Travel/News/Story/A1Story20071112-36002.html
http://www.asiaone.com/A1MEDIA/travel/20071112.173654_toppix-a380princealwaleed.jpg
Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) - Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the Saudi billionaire who is Citigroup Inc.'s biggest individual investor, agreed to buy a $319 million Airbus SAS A380 superjumbo, becoming the first private customer for the world's biggest aircraft.
The purchase was announced by Toulouse, France-based Airbus at the Dubai Air Show today. Alwaleed, ranked the world's 13th-richest person by Forbes magazine, flew in from Saudi Arabia on his Boeing Co. 747.
Surging oil prices have helped boost sales of private jetliners in the Middle East. The double-deck A380, which seats 525 people in a standard airline configuration, can house three bedrooms, private lounges, bathrooms, offices, a steam bath and exercise machines in a so-called VIP set-up, according to Deutsche Lufthansa AG's maintenance arm, which outfits plane interiors.
Airbus, the world's biggest maker of commercial aircraft, expects to sell 30 to 35 VIP planes a year, with the Middle East accounting for as many as 40 percent of them, Richard Gaona, vice president for executive and private aviation, said in January. The company was in talks with two potential A380 customers, he said at the time.
Airbus began offering planes configured as business aircraft in 1999, initially focusing on the A319, normally a 124-seat jet. Since then, the company has doubled its annual sales of VIP planes and added larger models such as the widebody A330 and A340. Airbus has sold 80 private jets in total, Gaona said in January.
Burgeoning Market
Private aviation in the Middle East, the world's third- largest market after the U.S. and Europe, may grow 10-12 percent annually, doubling in value to about $800 million by 2012, Ali al-Naqbi, chairman of the Dubai-based Middle East Business Aviation Association, said Jan. 11.
Alwaleed's A380 will be powered by engines from Rolls- Royce Plc. While the plane has a list price of $319 million, the price he will pay was not disclosed.
The Saudi prince first invested in Citigroup, the world's largest bank, in 1991 and his Kingdom Holding Co. has a 4 percent stake worth at least $6.5 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Like Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman Warren Buffett, Alwaleed built his $25 billion fortune by taking holdings in undervalued brand-name companies.
The prince, a nephew of Saudi King Abdullah, began investing after graduating from California's Menlo College in 1979. A year later, he received a $300,000 loan from Saudi American Bank, which was run by Citicorp, according to his authorized biography "Alwaleed: Businessman, Billionaire, Prince," written by Al-Jazeera International host Riz Khan.
In 1991, the prince invested $590 million in Citigroup predecessor Citicorp, which needed cash as it struggled with Latin American loan losses and a collapse in U.S. property.
Source: http://www.asiaone.com/Travel/News/Story/A1Story20071112-36002.html