The Arab Company for Tourism and Hotels Investments (ICON), affiliated to Talaat Moustafa Group, has submitted an offer to the Egyptian government to acquire a "significant stake with management rights in a sizable portfolio of seven state-owned hotels. The planned company includes the acquisition of 37% of its capital at a value of $700m, in cooperation with an Emirati investor, a number of hotels: Sofitel Old Cataract Aswan, Mövenpick Resort Aswan, Sofitel Winter Palace Luxor, Steigenberger El Tahrir, Steigenberger Cecil Alexandria, Marriott Mena House Hotel, and Cairo Marriott Hotel and Omar Khayyam Casino. The group stated in a statement that the hotels are currently owned by the Egyptian General Company for Tourism and Hotels (EGOTH). It said that the deal is in line with the group's strategic growth plan as a major player in the upscale hotel sector in Egypt. ICON aims to develop and modernize the new portfolio to be in line with its existing activities in the current hotel projects. It also aims to create value for its shareholders through acquisition. Upon its completion, the acquisition will result in ICON's portfolio reaching 15 hotels, with a total hotel room base exceeding 5,000 rooms, including projects under construction and development. The acquisition will also contribute to achieving future revenues in hard currency, in line with the group's strategy of maximizing the company's recurring income activities. Talaat Mostafa Group confirmed that the aim of the acquisition is to develop and modernize hotels in order to raise their operational efficiency to higher levels, which will enable them to attract a higher quality of tourism in Egypt. This will result in increasing and maximizing tourism revenues from hotels by increasing the selling prices of rooms. In addition, the acquisition process is consistent with the government's policy of strengthening the role of the private sector in Egypt. The company has appointed EFG-Hermes as a financial advisor for the acquisition deal, provided that the group will provide more details upon completion of the signing of the final agreement.
