Saudi billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal announced today that he had bought a stake in the networking website Twitter in a US$300 million deal.

NONE The Kingdom Holding Company, an investment firm founded by Al-Waleed ( left ), said that the “strategic deal comes after several months of negotiations”.

Al-Waleed is a nephew of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz. His net worth is estimated by Forbes magazine to be US$19.6 billion.

“The deal of 2012 is a gift to every Arab citizen. It demonstrates our ability to identify promising investment opportunities that are characterized by high growth as well as global presence and impact,” Al-Waleed said in a statement.

Twitter, one of the most popular networking and microblogging websites, has played a key role in the Arab uprisings that began this year. Activists have used it to spread news of protests and arrests during their rallies against Arab leaders.

- dpa