Qatar picks 40% stake in Fairmont for $847 million

Kingdom Holding said in a statement that Fairmont Raffles had agreed to sell 40 per cent of its capital to Cayman Islands-based Voyager Partners Ltd and Qatari Diar, which is owned by the Qatar Investment Authority.

Kingdom Holding did not say whether the stake involved new or existing shares in Fairmont Raffles Holdings. Raffles Fairmont would use the money to fund current and future expansion and Kingdom, 95 per cent owned by billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed, would see its stake fall to 35 per cent from 58 per cent after the deal, Kingdom added. Kingdom Holding, a main shareholder in Citigroup Inc, posted a net profit of 156 million riyals ($41.60 million) in the fourth-quarter, following a 30.98 billion riyal loss a year earlier.