Participants attending the annual Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh are seen here in 2024. Amid the US-Iran War, organizers announced that the 2026 event is postponed.
Fayez Nureldine/AFP via Getty Images
Saudi Arabia is postponing the "Future Investment Initiative" conference, which was set for later this month.
The announcement came as fighting has renewed between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia.
The conference, which was set to return Wall Street titans to Riyadh, will now take place next year.
Saudi Arabia has postponed a gathering of Wall Street titans as instability spreads across the Middle East amid the US-Iran War.
On Monday, Princess Maha Bint Mishari Al Saud announced that officials were postponing the Future Investment Initiative, which was scheduled for October 26 through the 29th until next year.
"This decision comes from a deep commitment to our partners, members, speakers, and delegates," Princess Maha said in a statement. "Because this is our landmark tenth edition, we want to ensure it delivers the full scale, extraordinary quality, and unforgettable impact that our community has come to expect and truly deserves."
The postponement comes after a recent attack by Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, which left at least 13 people dead, the Associated Press reported. Before the announcement, CNBC reported that some delegates were prepared to land in Bahrain and then drive around five hours to Riyadh.
The conference, which has become a major gathering since its launch in 2017, was set to feature the likes of Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink.
"We will announce the new 2027 dates very soon," the statement said.
Houthi rebels have attacked Saudi Arabia in recent weeks as an informal 2022 truce between the two sides deteriorated amid the US-Iran War. In 2015, Saudi Arabia began a bombing campaign against the rebels after they seized Sanaa, Yemen's capital.
Rep. Max Miller argues that housing shortages in rural Ohio hinder economic development and calls for federal support to ensure workers can afford to live in their communities.
With Republicans seen as less likely to hold their majority in the House, the party is focusing more on the battle for the Senate, where it is vastly outspending Democrats on ads.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index declined on Monday, shedding 66.15 points, or 0.65 percent, to close at 10,123.62. Trading turnover reached SR3.56 billion ($945.9 million), with approximately 302.1 million shares changing hands. Market breadth was negative, with 200 stocks declining and 63 advancing, according to Saudi Exchange data. The Kingdom’s parallel market, Nomu, fell 218.82 points, or 0.99 percent, to 21,967.64. The MSCI Tadawul 30 Index lost 9.14 points, or 0.66 percent,
A horror story in eight words: Private equity just invested in my favorite BLANK.
"PE ruins everything" is a well-worn trope, but it's not unearned.
Private-equity investors have a history of stripping companies for parts and saddling them with debt, leaving customers wondering what happened to the product they once loved.
So it wasn't surprising that some fans of Los Tacos No. 1, an NYC Tijuana-style taco chain, feared a new PE investment would ultimately ruin things.
Christian Pineda, the chain's CEO and cofounder, told BI's Martina Nacach Cowan Ros that he's determined not to let that happen, and that "private equity is not always bad."
Ironically, the visceral reaction was exactly why TSG Consumer, which also backs Crumbl and Dutch Bros Coffee, was interested in the taco joint in the first place. TSG executive Colin Welch told Martina that Los Tacos No. 1 has a "cultlike following," and the company needs to "show those skeptics that it's going to be exactly the same."
Before you roll your eyes, there's a recent example of a largely positive PE-backed story in the restaurant industry. Blackstone spent two years turning founder-run Jersey Mike's into an IPO-ready company.
While the PE firm took big steps to professionalize the 51-year-old sandwich shop, it didn't touch portion sizes or suppliers. And Blackstone also established a shared ownership plan allowing Jersey Mike's employees to cash in on this summer's IPO.
It hasn't all been a fairy tale. The company opened below its IPO price of $23 — never a good sign — and is currently trading around $18 per share.
You might not like private equity, but it could be your only option.
Los Tacos No. 1 spent 13 years growing to 10 spots across Manhattan and an additional sister location, Los Mariscos. Further expansion in such an expensive city is difficult enough. Add in the rising cost of goods like beef, limes, and avocados, and growth plans become even harder to achieve.
There are other ways to raise capital outside PE, but they aren't pretty these days.
The lending market remains a disaster. The possibility of at least one more rate hike before the end of the year means borrowing costs aren't likely to drop anytime soon.
And the public market isn't too inviting. The heavy focus on AI means anyone who isn't a major player in that space risks being ignored by investors. Even the biggest names in AI, like OpenAI, aren't rushing to go public.
This isn't about defending private equity. (God knows it has enough money to do that itself.) It's just showing the economic and market environments have limited a lot of companies' choices.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s investment funds would need to disclose more details on payouts, holdings and property revenues under proposals aimed at improving transparency across the sector. The Capital Market Authority is considering requiring funds to explain the sources of cash distributions, including income from investments and capital gains realized through asset sales. Quarterly statements would detail funds’ 10 largest investments, identifying asset types, counterparties and each holding’s sh
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