Prince Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding Sells Mövenpick Hotel Bur Dubai

Kingdom Holding Investments (KHI), a subsidiary of Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), has announced that it has sold its stake in the Mövenpick Hotel and Apartments Bur Dubai.

The company said in a statement that it has sold off its 100 per cent stake in the hotel to a UAE-based investment firm for a gross consideration of $95 million. The transaction was closed on November 28, 2014.

“This transaction marks yet another success for KHC’s value realisation strategy from growth market investments,” Prince Alwaleed said.

Sarmad Zok, chairman and CEO of KHI and member of KHC’s Board of Directors added: “The sale of the Mövenpick Hotel and Apartments Bur Dubai is a testament to the economic robustness of Dubai and to the buoyant M&A environment in the hospitality sector here.”

KHI, which is headquartered in Dubai, is an international hotel and resort acquisition and development company focused on high growth emerging markets such as the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.

KHC’s portfolio has its major interests in luxury hotels management companies including Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Fairmont Raffles Holding International, Mövenpick Hotels, Resorts AG and Swissotel.

Globally, the company has hotel real estate investments in 22 properties including George V Hotel in Paris, The Plaza in New York, Savoy Hotel in London, Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto and the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco amongst others.

However, the group is planning to divest some of its stakes in hotels in the region, according to Prince Alwaleed.

Last year, the Saudi billionaire told Reuters that he plans to sell 20 to 30 hotels in the Middle East, Africa and Asia by 2015.

“Those are traded portfolio. We just take them, we reconstruct them with our partners, we brand them… and then we sell them. It’s like a recycling situation,” Prince Alwaleed was quoted as saying.

But despite such divestment plans, KHI is planning to retain its landmark hotel assets.

“Hotels that we as Kingdom Holding directly own such as the Plaza Hotel in New York, the Savoy in London, the Four Seasons in Toronto and George V in Paris, these are the anchor ones that are not for sale,” he added.