Kingdom Holding to buy back hotels arm

* username: rupertbu

Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding, owned by Prince Al-Walid bin Talal, the billionaire investor, has made a cash offer to buy all outstanding shares in Kingdom Hotel Investments, a subsidiary, in a cash offer valuing the company at $843m.

An independent committee set up to oversee the transaction had recommended that shareholders accept the offer of $5 per share or global depository receipt, Kingdom Holding said in a statement. Seventy per cent of shareholders were already committed to the sale, which would take the company back into private hands.

KHI is based in Dubai and has a primary listing on NasdaqDubai with a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange. According to its website, the company has invested in 27 hotels in 18 countries including Kenya, Egypt and Cambodia. The stock has suffered from the low liquidity levels on NasdaqDubai, an international bourse linked to the Dubai International Financial Centre.