Former Ritz Detainee Alhokair Is Said to Restart #Saudi Mall IPO - Bloomberg

Former Ritz Detainee Alhokair Is Said to Restart Saudi Mall IPO - Bloomberg:

Fawaz Alhokair Group, whose billionaire co-founder was detained in Saudi Arabia’s declared corruption crackdown, is restarting work on the initial public offering of its Arabian Centres malls unit, people familiar with the matter said.

The group is working with Moelis & Co., Morgan Stanley, Samba Financial Group and NCB Capital on plans to sell 30 percent of the company and list the shares on the Saudi stock exchange, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Arabian Centres has applied to the markets regulator for the sale, which could happen in the second quarter of this year, the people said.

The conglomerate has been planning the IPO since 2014 when it hoped to raise $2 billion. It delayed plans in 2015 after the Saudi stock exchange slumped and again in 2017 when Fawaz Alhokair, who’s a major shareholder in the group and in fashion retailer Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair & Co., was among princes, ministers and billionaires held at the Ritz Carlton in Riyadh on accusations of corruption.