According to Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star, two major Beirut-based hotels that are owned by the detained billionaire and Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal are up for sale.
The newspaper cited an undisclosed source familiar with the case and reported that a Lebanese bank has been commissioned to find potential buyers for the luxurious Four Seasons Hotel and Movenpick Hotel in Beirut.
The bank has reportedly been instructed to carry out a comprehensive appraisal of the hotels to establish its assets and liabilities and evaluate its commercial potential, known in business terms as 'due diligence'.
"The bank is supposed to complete due diligence in one month or less. Once due diligence is completed, the results will be announced to the public," the source told The Daily Star.
The reasons behind the potential sale of Prince Alwaleed's assets in Lebanon were not disclosed. However, both five-star hotels are amongst the key Lebanese assets of the Saudi-owned Kingdom Holding Co.
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Who is Prince Alwaleed bin Talal?
The outspoken businessman and investor once dubbed the "richest Arab in the world" was born in 1955. He is the grandson of the first king of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz Ibn Saud.
Through his investment company, Kingdom Holding Co., Prince Alwaleed owns or has stakes in Citigroup, Twitter, Lyft, Euro Disney, luxury hotels across the world, a tower under construction in Saudi Arabia that will soon be the world’s tallest building and, up until recently, 21st Century Fox.
According to Forbes, his personal wealth amounts to $16.7 billion.