Bill Gates to take control of the Four Seasons hotel chain

Cascade Investment LLC, owned by billionaire Bill Gates, to acquire control of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts by buying about half of Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s stake for $ 2.21 billion, the hotel operator reported on Wednesday.

Cascade will acquire 23.8% of the billionaire prince’s shares in Four Seasons, increasing its stake to 71.3% and valuing the hotel chain at $ 10 billion in commercial terms.

Prince Alwaleed, through his investment vehicle Kingdom Holding Co, will continue to hold the remainder of the stake, Four Seasons said in a statement.

While the prince owns stakes in numerous companies such as Citigroup Inc (CN) and trucking company Lyft Inc (LYFT.O), his investment company has been selling its stakes in hotels for 10 years.

Prince Alwaleed was released in early 2018 after being held at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh along with dozens of royalty, senior officials and businessmen as part of the anti-corruption campaign by Saudi Arabia.

In an interview with the channel Fox News later that year, the prince said his arrest was “forgiven and forgotten”.

On the other hand, Kingdom Holding said it would use the proceeds of the divestiture for future investments and to repay part of the outstanding loans.

Cascade declined to comment beyond the press release. The company first invested in Four Seasons in 1997.

The hotel operator, which manages 121 establishments and has more than 50 projects in its portfolio, was acquired by a consortium led by Cascade, Prince Alwaleed and the founder of the hotel chain, Isadore Sharp., a decade later.

Sharp will retain its 5% stake under the deal.

With information from Reuters

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