Saudi billionaire Prince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud has acquired a 5% stake in electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Motors, further strengthening Saudi Arabia’s influence in the company.

A filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published on Tuesday revealed that the prince recently purchased more than 19 million shares in Lucid Motors.

In a post on X, Prince Al Waleed said his investment office made the purchase when Lucid’s market capitalisation was below $2 billion.

The acquisition came after reports emerged in July that Lucid was considering bankruptcy protection or a potential takeover by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. The company denied the claims, and its share price has since recovered.

Lucid Motors’ Chief Communications Officer, Nick Twork, said the company does not comment on individual investments but welcomed the confidence shown by investors.

The investment comes as Lucid undergoes a major restructuring programme led by its newly appointed Chief Executive Officer, Silvio Napoli.

In June, Napoli announced a reduction of 18% of the company’s workforce as part of efforts to streamline operations.

Lucid has been majority-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) since 2018, following an initial investment after the kingdom explored, but later abandoned, plans to acquire Tesla.

The PIF has maintained an ownership stake of about 60% in Lucid since the company went public in 2021 through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, a deal that raised about $4 billion.

Saudi Arabia has continued to provide financial backing to Lucid through share purchases and billions of dollars in lending as the company works to expand its electric vehicle market presence globally.

Prince Al Waleed, known as the “Arabian Warren Buffett,” has a long history of investing in technology companies. Through his investment firm, he was previously a major shareholder in Twitter before it was acquired by Elon Musk.

He also holds investments in companies including Snap and Deezer.