When Saudi Prince Alwaleed speaks, people jump the gun.
Investors went on a buying frenzy yesterday for Sony Corp. shares when they believed his off-the-cuff public remarks contained hidden meaning that he was going to buy a chunk of the electronics giant.
Sony jumped in its biggest gain in 29 months, adding 5.2 percent to the price of a share – making any purchase by the prince, or anyone else, that much more expensive.
Alwaleed’s office denied emphatically that he had any interest in Sony and hasn’t had any meetings with the company’s management about an investment.
However, his office did say he may have mentioned Sony “as an example of any big company” that he might be reviewing for an investment. These comments came in Alwaleed’s interview in Riyadh with one of Japan’s leading newspapers, Nihon Keizai.
The paper quoted the prince as saying of Sony: “If I was certain that the current share price has hit bottom, then I would have already purchased it, but right now we’re using in-house and independent research to assess the future of Sony’s earnings and share performance.”
Alwaleed’s bargain shopping for underpriced big brand names in recent years is a strategy that swelled his $1.4 billion portfolio to $20 billion on stock picks including the former Citicorp, Apple and Disney. He is also a major shareholder in News Corp., parent company of The Post.
Sony shares are down 72 percent from their high in 2000. This year, it is bracing for its worst in 11 years when it expects to post its first full-year loss.
Its new chief, Howard Stringer, is planning a cost-cutting strategy – a rarity in Japan. Stringer said he intends to fire 10,000 employees, or 6.6 percent of its workforce.