Fairmont buys California resort for $88m
Riyadh, March 24, 2012
Canada-based Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, controlled by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, said it has purchased a 228-room luxury resort in California.
Since 2002, Fairmont has been managing the historic Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa, said a statement from Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), the investment firm chaired by Prince Alwaleed, which owns a 35 per cent stake in Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.
Blessed by natural mineral hot springs in Sonoma Valley, California is an idyllic region abundant with local products, including the Willow Stream Spa, championship Sonoma Golf Course and signature restaurant, the Michelin award winning Santé.
It is one of the only luxury spa resorts in the country with its own source of thermal mineral water, it added.
Commenting on the deal, Prince Alwaleed said, “This strategic acquisition is consistent with Kingdom Holding’s investment strategy. We continue to expand our hotel portfolio for further growth and development in the hotels’ sector.”
Prince Alwaleed has investments in five hotel management companies, through KHC, managing more than 300 hotels around the world, which include Four Seasons Resorts and Hotels, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, Raffles Hotels and Resorts, Movenpick Hotels & Resorts and Swissotel.
According to him, the Fairmont Raffles is an integral component of KHC’s diverse hotel portfolio.
In 2010, KHC announced a $847 million transaction with Qatari Diar involving Fairmont Raffles Holdings International (FRHI), he stated.
Under the agreements, Voyager has acquired for a combination of cash and other consideration a 40 per cent shareholding in FRHI, the KHC said in a statement.
In addition, Qatari Diar has undertaken to provide the FRHI with a number of future management contracts for hotels that will be branded either Fairmont, Raffles or Swissotel, the statement said.
In 2006, KHC and Colony completed the acquisition of Fairmont Hotels and Resorts which was combined with the Raffles Hotels Group, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
