Goldman Sachs plans multibillion-dollar deal to fuel Saudi growth

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has approached a Saudi state-owned entity about a multibillion-dollar deal as the U.S. lender prepares to use its own money in the kingdom for the first time.

“We’re very keen on deploying our principal capital in the region in both forms: credit and equity capital,” Wassim Younan, the bank’s chief executive officer for the Middle East and North Africa, said in an interview in Riyadh. “We continue to prospect for opportunities to do so, and we’ve put forward at least one meaningful, multibillion-dollar proposal to a state-owned enterprise.”

Younan declined to name the company or to give more details about the type of deal the bank is looking at. Goldman, which has traditionally advised companies and governments on takeovers and fundraising efforts in the region, is looking for opportunities in the kingdom to invest the firm’s own capital alongside its clients, Younan said in a March interview.

The U.S. lender has been building its presence in Saudi Arabia for some time, boosting head count, securing a stock-trading license and getting involved in key deals including the kingdom’s dollar bond sale.

The bank hired veteran banker Ammar Al-Khudairy, who previously oversaw Morgan Stanley’s operations in Saudi Arabia, to help identify opportunities for investment, Younan said in March.

Goldman has already been involved in sizable deals in Saudi Arabia and wants to make sure it’s well placed to take advantage as the nation diversifies its economy away from oil and opens up to foreign investment.