Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal struck a deal to sell off his stake in two five-star hotels in Kenya to a Nepalese billionaire.
Before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the prince’s investment firm Kingdom Holding sold his stake to the Nepalese Chaudhary Group.
The new owner, Binod Chaudhary, founded the multi-national conglomerate headquartered in Nepal and has investments in financial services, consumer goods, education, hospitality, energy, consumer electronics, real estate, biotech, and alternative medicine.
“Prince Al-Waleed is no longer in the game after surrendering the ownership of remaining hotel business in Kenya and his investment group is focusing somewhere else,” a local transaction advisor told Business Daily.
The two Kenyan hotels have recently been in the spotlight after announcing the termination of all employees on May 28, 2020.
"It is regrettable that our Hotels, Fairmont The Norfolk and Fairmont Safari Club have since ceased their operations as a spiral effect of the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent flooding of the Fairmont Mara Safari Club.
“These unprecedented natural causes have resulted in disruption of business now and in the foreseeable future," the statement explained.
However, Solicitor General Kennedy Ogeto raised questions about how the process was conducted.
“This office has received complaints from some of the affected employees who have raised concerns about lack of due process in reaching the closure and violations of the employment rights,” he wrote to the General Manager of the hotels, Mehdi Morad.
On June 4, the hotel withdrew the decision to terminate its staff with the hotel GM stating “The memo is withdrawn as we continue with consultative meetings with all stakeholders until an agreement is reached.”
The hotels, under the new boss, are set to undergo renovations that could take a whole year.
The prince had coughed up Ksh6 billion to acquire and upgrade the hotels in 2005. Other hotels that were part of the deal were Mount Kenya Safari Club in Nanyuki, The Aberdare Country Club and The Ark which have since been sold.
Prince Al-Waleed seems to be moving away from the hotel business after selling Four Season Damascus in Syria.
Apart from the new acquisition in Kenya, the hotels’ new owner also has Le Relax Hotel in Seychelles.
