The Russo brothers, directors of the all-time top grossing film “Avengers: Endgame,” quietly secured a roughly $50 million cash infusion for their production company
AGBO from
Saudi Arabia earlier this year, multiple sources tell
Variety.
In a deal brokered and closed at the beginning of the pandemic, the Russos received the investment from an undisclosed Saudi bank in exchange for a minority stake in the brothers’ Los Angeles-based shop. The money is earmarked to help fund development, production and overhead
, two people familiar with the transaction said.
The Russos count multiple other investors and maintain a controlling interest in their company, which recently produced Chris Hemsworth’s Netflix hit “Extraction” and Tom Holland’s forthcoming “Cherry.”
Joe and
Anthony Russo declined to comment on the matter. One insider said the Saudi money is a one-time cash infusion. Another source said the investment was much higher than $50 million.
While the Russos did not draw from any public fund, the Saudi Arabian government has stakes in the kingdom’s banks, though not all are majority holdings. One person with knowledge of the landscape said a bank investment versus cash from the Saudi public funds was “a distinction without a difference.”
Saudi Arabia’s involvement in western media became a source of huge controversy following the October 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi — and subsequent reports that appeared to implicate Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the assassination.
variety.com
