HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, Chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) and Chairman of Alwaleed Philanthropies (AP) received His Excellency Michele Cervone d’Urso European Union Ambassador and Mrs. d’Urso. The meeting was attended by Ms. Heba Fatani, Senior Executive Manager, Corporate Communications, Ms. Hassna Alturki, Senior Executive Manager for International Relations to HRH the Chairman, Mr. Fahad Bin Nafel, Senior Executive Assistant to HRH the Chairman, Mr. Ahmed Altobaishi, Executive Assistant to HRH the chairman.

The meeting began as the #EU Ambassador thanked Prince Alwaleed for the meeting. During the meeting, the two discussed the social and economic relations between Saudi Arabia and European Union countries in addition to cultural matters and topics related to investments.

Moreover, Prince Alwaleed has significant investment in Europe through KHC, mainly in France. These investments are considered to be the largest Saudi Arabian presence in France through the full ownership and the management of the iconic landmark The Four Seasons Hotel George V, the management of Le Royal Monceau Hotel (Raffles), the management of the Grand Hotel du Cap Ferrat in the South of France, in addition to, Disneyland, Paris (Euro Disney), 7 hotels in Disneyland, Paris, and through the presence of Citigroup. Also Prince Alwaleed’s cultural contributions through Alwaleed Philanthropies that is chaired by His Highness that have donated US$20 million in 2005 to establish the center of Islamic Art at the Musée du Louvre.

Furthermore, recently Flynas in which KHC owns a 34.08% stake, finalized an $8.6B deal with Airbus for the purchase of new aircrafts. Moreover, KHC is a 5.8% shareholder in AccorHotels in a $3.2 billion deal. AccorHotels had signed an agreement with KHC and other investors for the acquisition of FRHI Holdings Ltd (FRHI), parent of Fairmont, Raffles, and Swissôtel hotel brands.

In a strategic alliance between France & KHC, a consortium of France’s big companies led by the CDCIC International Capital, the International investment arm of Caisse des Depots, France’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, announced that they have approved an investment in KHC. The deal constitutes the acquisition of KHC’s shares with a minimum amount of $150 million dollars (SR563 million Saudi Riyals) subject to increase.  Moreover, HRH Prince Alwaleed retained all the 95% stake in KHC. In a separate deal, KHC & CDC France’s SWF had announced a launch of USD 400M fund. The investment fund will be to seek attractive investment opportunities in small and medium size enterprises in Saudi Arabia with the participation of large French corporates, in addition to diversifying KHC’s investment portfolio.

Founded in 1980, KHC is a publicly traded company which was listed on Tadawul (the Saudi Stock Exchange) in 2007. Today, KHC is one of the world’s most successful and diversified business organizations with investments across 12 sectors. For over two decades, the company has been a leading player in the global hospitality industry, building shareholder value by acquiring, developing, actively asset managing and monetizing high-quality hospitality assets.