Tag Archives: investors

With just under a month to go before the Future Hospitality Summit Saudi Arabia gets under way, investors, developers, government decision makers and regional hospitality leaders are gearing up for three days of networking, learning, debate and deal making in Riyadh with TravTalkME as media partner. Nearly 300 investors – almost one in four of all delegates – attended last year’s event, which created more than US$1.1 billion worth of business opportunities and saw 17 deals signed. With KSA’s hospitality and tourism transformation in full swing in line with Vision 2030, the stage is set for a wealth of new partnerships, signings and collaborations at FHS Saudi Arabia 2025. In the run up to FHS Saudi Arabia, I spoke to leaders from Taiba Investments, Al Khozama Investment Company, Baraka and AlNahla Group for their take on investing in KSA. Read on for insight on where these investors are heading, the importance of hospitality projects to Saudi’s overall real estate offering, how tourism targets can be met and what excites them most about KSA’s future tourism offering. With unprecedented expansion in real estate, tourism and hospitality in KSA, the opportunities for investment are seemingly endless. What are investors focusing on in terms of location and asset class? Taiba Investments is looking to solidify its position in the hospitality and real state sectors and aiming for sustainable growth by expanding in key hubs like Riyadh, Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah to elevate KSA’s status as a premier global destination. The company is looking to strategically expand its portfolio with several hotel openings, such as Rixos Obhur Jeddah, Makarem Burj Al Madinah, Crowne Plaza Takhassusi, Sheraton Madinah, Novotel Madinah and Riyadh Marriott Hotel Mursalat. …

Travelport Worldwide Limited announced that a group of its existing equity holders and lenders have agreed to invest $570 million of new equity financing into the Company. The new financing will give Travelport a robust capital structure, enable further investment into Travelport’s technology platforms and pave the way for other innovations to deliver new and exceptional ways for the travel industry to serve customers. The new investment in Travelport is being made pursuant to an agreement that will significantly deleverage and strengthen the Company’s balance sheet (the “Transaction”). Following completion of the Transaction, Travelport will have a new ownership structure composed of Travelport’s existing equity and credit investors, including Elliott Investment Management, Davidson Kempner Capital Management, Canyon Partners, Siris Capital and other leading institutional investors. These investors will remain well positioned to provide strategic counsel and support to the Company’s management. “This investment demonstrates our investors’ support for Travelport and will advance our mission to reinvent a better future for the travel industry,” said Greg Webb, Chief Executive Officer of Travelport. “With this new investment, Travelport will have a strong balance sheet with the least amount of debt amongst its peers, which we believe will put the Company in an even better position for long-term, profitable growth. Most importantly, this Transaction will further strengthen our operating business and accelerate our investments in Travelport+ and other initiatives that make us the most innovative and agile partner to all our customers. We thank our investors for their significant vote of confidence in Travelport.” In the last year, Travelport has undertaken several successful strategic investments and initiatives to enhance the technology, products and services it provides to customers. These include the acquisition of …