Bill Gates firm buys 'Four Seasons' of Saudi Prince Alwaleed in $2.2bn deal

Owned by Gates, Cascade Investment LLC will buy a 23.75% stake from Kingdom Holding Co, giving the business a $10 billion enterprise value. As part of the all-cash deal, Cascade’s stake will increase to 71.25%.

Kingdom Holding will use the proceeds for investments and to repay some outstanding loans. The deal is expected to close in January 2022. Four Seasons Chairman, Isadore Sharp, will retain his 5% stake.

Four Seasons shareholders took the company private in 2007, with Gates and Alwaleed leading the deal. The new owners expanded the company’s footprint to more markets in a bid to capitalize on a booming market for luxury travel.

Four Seasons managed 74 hotels when it agreed to be acquired by Gates and Alwaleed. Now it operates 121 properties, with more than 50 projects in the pipeline.

It’s also expanded efforts to attach its brand to luxury homes, as real estate developers realized that affluent buyers would pay more to live in a condo or residential community associated with the hotel brand.

SOURCE: BLOOMBERG