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HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, Chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) and Chairman of Rotana Group, met Mr. Vincent Bolloré, Chairman of Vivendi at George V, Hotel in Paris. The meeting was also attended by Mr. Fahad Alsukait, CEO of Rotana Group, Ms. Hassna Alturki, Executive Manager for International Relations to HRH the Chairman and Mr. Kacy Grine, Advisor to KHC.
During their meeting HRH and Mr. Bolloré discussed general, business and economic issues and future potential of a strategic partnership. Furthermore, Prince Alwaleed and Mr. Bolloré discussed the deal of acquiring KHC’s shares with a minimum amount of $150 million dollars (SR563 million Saudi Riyals) that took place in 2015.
Moreover, the two discussed economic, cultural matters and topics related to media. They also discussed the bi-lateral relations between Saudi Arabia and #France, and the strong relations between HRH and France, especially KHC’s investments in France that are considered to be the largest Saudi Arabian presence in France through the ownership and management of the iconic landmark The Four Seasons Hotel George V, the management of Le Royal Monceau Hotel (Raffles), Disneyland, Paris (Euro Disney), 7 hotels in Disneyland, Paris, in addition to the management of the Grand Hotel du Cap Ferrat in the South of France, 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.
In June 2015, HE French President François Hollande and Prince Alwaleed held a meeting at the French presidential Palace, The Elysee. 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.
In 2006, HRH was bestowed the medal of “Legion of Honor,” with the rank of Commander by the former French President, Jacques Chirac during an official ceremony held at the Élysée Palace. The medal is the country’s highest civilian honor, and it was bestowed to the Prince in recognition of his role in strengthening Saudi-French cultural, business and economic relations. In 2009 Former President Nicolas Sarkozy awarded Prince Alwaleed with the “President of France Medal”. In 2007, HRH was awarded the “Golden” medal by the French Minister of Culture and Communication.
Founded in 1980, KHC is a publicly traded company which was listed on Tadawul (the Saudi Stock Exchange) in 2007. KHC is one of the world’s most successful and diversified business organizations, highly respected in the field of investments and recognized as an elite player in the Arabian Gulf region, and internationally. The Company is recognized as one of the largest foreign investors in the United States. KHC’s portfolio has its major interests in investment categories ranging from luxury hotels management, hotel companies (Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Fairmont Raffles Holding Intl and Mövenpick Hotels, Resorts AG and Swissotel) and real estate (Kingdom Tower project in Jeddah and Kingdom Tower and project in Riyadh and Kingdom City) to hotel real estate investments such as (The Plaza, New York, Savoy Hotel, London and Four Seasons, George V Hotel, Paris and other hotels). KHC also has investments in Petrochemical (Tasnee) Media and Publishing (News Corporation and 21st Century Fox), as well as in Entertainment (Euro Disney S.C.A). In addition, Finance and Investment services (Citigroup), Social Media and Technology (Twitter, JD.com and Lyft). Moreover, the Company has investments in Education (Kingdom Schools), Health Care (Kingdom Hospital and Consulting Clinics), Aviation (NAS Saudi Arabia) and Agriculture (Kingdom Agricultural Development Company – KADCO Egypt).
