Saudi prince invests $300 million in Twitter

Very interesting, but it really makes me wonder.<p>If Twitter is making money, why dilute the shares with investment like this?<p>I'm sure one response is 'so they can grow the company', but that seems like a bit of a hard sell at this point.<p>How big does a company like Twitter really need to grow in order to be successful enough that they don't need to take $300 million investment deals? I mean, they are already the #1 provider of 140 character communication.<p>What is next?

Hearing news like this, I can't help wondering what will happen to twitter if/when the Arab Spring spreads to Saudi Arabia.

Anybody know if this was a direct investment, or through a secondary market?

I find it interesting that a government which allegedly funds terrorism [1] also funds a company which is supposed to be the shining beacon of transparency and a tool which has been crucial to the Arab Spring movements.<p>Wonder how much of an influence this will have on Twitter's self-censorship.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/05/wikileaks-cables-saudi-terrorist-funding" rel="nofollow">http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/05/wikileaks-cables...</a>

How much of Twitter does that get him?

Good time to reduce holdings if you're an insider or early investor.

If SOPA passes, surely this will be a regrettable decision...

He was originally looking to splash money on a football (soccer in the US) club, but could not find one to buy, so... ;-)

Feeling pwnage right now.

To those wondering if this is a secondary purchase, the keyword I see here is 'Invests'. It is very different from "Saudi Prince <i>buys</i> $300m worth of Twitter shares".

FYI this is a secondary purchase (ie it was not an investment in twitter directly, but rather he purchased shares from other investors): <a href="http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/12/19/saudi-prince-deal-for-twitter-is-a-secondary/" rel="nofollow">http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/12/19/saudi-prince-deal-...</a>

Smart investment. Twitter has really changed news and personal broadcasting in ways many of us don't appreciate. And Twitter has some of the smartest people dispersing pearls of wisdom and knowledge like nowhere else.<p>Again, Twitter is a smart investment - in more ways than just money.