(Bloomberg) — A Saudi family investment vehicle with ties to the world’s largest Islamic bank has become the biggest shareholder in Israeli mobility intelligence company Otonomo Technologies Ltd.
Mithaq Capital SPC, a family office for the AlRajhi family that is incorporated in the Cayman Islands but headquartered in Riyadh, recently increased its stake in the Israel-based company to 20.41%, according to a July 20 regulatory filing.
Israel and Saudi Arabia do not have official diplomatic or business ties, although they are believed to have security and defense links based around their shared concerns over Iran’s regional ambitions.
The two Middle Eastern countries agreed to a number of small steps that fell short of the normalization of ties during US President Joe Biden’s recent visit to the region, with Saudi Arabia agreeing to ease flight restrictions over its airspace for commercial airlines traveling to and from Tel Aviv.
“We like the innovation and the technology culture that Israel has, and we try to find ways to benefit from that,” said Muhammad Asif Seemab, managing director of Mithaq Capital. “As part of our investment process — other than Shariah compliance — we are country-agnostic, and sector-agnostic.”
Otonomo said in a statement that it is “familiar with Mithaq and see this holding increase as an endorsement of Otonomo’s technology and strategy.”
Globes first reported the filing.
The AlRajhi family founded the Al Rajhi Bank, the world’s largest Islamic bank by market capitalization. Mithaq Capital SPC is already the largest shareholder in Israeli digital advertising company Tremor International Ltd, which is listed in London, according to Bloomberg data.
Otonomo Technologies has seen its share price plummet by more than 80% this year. Tremor’s share price has declined by 24%.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/saudi-family-office-builds-largest-stake-in-israel-s-otonomo-1.1797195#:~:text=(Bloomberg)%20%2D%2D%20A%20Saudi%20family,intelligence%20company%20Otonomo%20Technologies%20Ltd.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-26/saudi-family-office-builds-largest-stake-in-israel-s-otonomo#xj4y7vzkg
