Saudi Arabia owns the company that bought the Democratic Party’s campaign tech

The government of Saudi Arabia is an investor in a private company that owns a virtual monopoly on software that empowers Democratic candidates — including the Democratic National Committee’s all-important voter list management.

Sanabil Investments, which manages Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, recently published its first list of investments in venture capital, buyout firms and startups. The list includes two private equity firms involved in the sale and purchase of Democratic Party campaign equipment, EuroAction and NGP vans two years ago.

“Saudi Arabia’s investments are certainly strategic,” said Paul Rose, associate dean of the Ohio State University School of Law, who has studied sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf states. “This disclosure is interesting because I look at it and think, ‘Well, why are you revealing all this?’ Saudis are very discerning in expressing their priorities not only to people in their country but also to people abroad.

Rose added, “Part of the investment for them is brand building.

Sanabil manages the Public Investment Fund, the official name of the Saudi government’s sovereign wealth fund. The fund is the world’s largest with $620 billion in assets.

In addition to the investments of Apax Partners, which acquired NGP VAN and EveryAction in August 2021, another venture capital and private equity firm called Sanabil Insight Partners in 2019. (Another company, Vista Equity Partners, which sold assets to Epax as part of the 2021 acquisition, is listed as a Saudi partner.)

“Limited partners in Apax funds are passive investors who have no role in the management of portfolio companies,” an Apax spokesperson said. “While they are entitled to information about the performance of their investments at the fund level, they cannot access sensitive portfolio company information.”

Other recently disclosed Saudi investments include Blackstone, Apollo Global Management and Andreessen Horowitz.

Federal laws are designed to prevent sovereign wealth funds from interfering in domestic politics. If a particular investment involves a national security risk, federal regulators can force the transaction to be reversed. Since sovereign wealth funds invest in companies through intermediaries such as Apax or Insight Partners, much of the risk is typically mitigated.

Investment in a company that processes information related to voting and politics may concern the Foreign Investment Committee, even if the investor has no influence on the related information, Rose. The Committee may require the Fund to use a leverage agreement that limits its relationship with a portfolio company. Rose added that the committee is quiet about its work and generally responsive to potential concerns. (A Treasury spokesman declined to comment.)

It is not clear why Sanabil released the list of partner venture capital and acquisition firms. Any fund or investment vehicle must report its investments in publicly traded US companies of $100 million or more to the Securities and Exchange Commission on a quarterly basis. Many of Sanabil’s investments are not required to be disclosed because some of them are through funds or non-publicly traded companies.

Sanabil did not disclose the amount of investment in each company. (The company did not respond to a request for comment.)

Disclosure It comes less than three months after Saudi Arabian investments Bonterra, the new combined company created by its acquisition of Apax, instituted layoffs at EveryAction and NGP VAN. Bonterra CEO Mark Layden said at least 140 people were affected by the job cuts as he pursued “long-term and efficient growth.” (Bonterra did not respond to a request for comment.)

Sanabil’s investment does not mean that the Saudi government has an interest in the companies’ operations.

Instead, progressive strategist Gabe Tobias said, the disclosure is further evidence that the fate of EveryAction and NGP vans is not a priority for their owners.

“They don’t care. It’s so important to the Democratic Party and progressive organizations that it’s owned by something that doesn’t care about them or even know they exist,” Tobias said. “Apax’s prioritization of all those holdings means they will continue to undercut NGP’s services to political campaigns. Unless you say otherwise if they don’t have it.

In the year In 2016, Saudi Arabia announced its Vision 2030 plan to transition its economy away from oil and gas dependence and towards technology investment. Sanabil’s unveiling will see additional spending with partners on Bird and Aura. The fund invests 50 percent of its assets in venture capital firms like Insight Partners, 30 percent in private equity firms like Apax and 20 percent in liquid portfolios.

It is common for sovereign wealth funds to invest in foreign companies as part of a growth strategy. Apax sold shares to investors from sovereign wealth funds in China, Singapore and Australia.

Sanabil’s list of partners resembles a venture capital press release, not a sovereign wealth fund’s investment statement.

“That’s kind of what a VC firm does,” he said. As a brand, who are you trying to suggest something to as investors? “It’s hard to know what to do.” The disclosure could be to demonstrate their ability to pick good assets as savvy investors, he added. “Other than that, I don’t know. Who knows what else they might do?”