Real Estate Taiba gets nod for $800m purchase of hotel group Dur By Andy Sambidge June 21, 2023, 11:44 AM Taiba Taiba's property portfolio includes a range of hotels Offer gains competition authority approval Dur will be delisted and shareholders will receive Taba shares Saudi Arabia to complete 315,000 hotel keys by 2030 Taiba Investments Co, one of the largest real estate developers in Saudi Arabia, said on Wednesday that its offer to acquire hospitality firm Dur in a SAR3 billion ($800 million) deal has been approved by the General Authority for Competition. In a filing to the Saudi Stock Exchange, Medina-based Taiba, which is best known for its commercial and hotel projects in the holy city, said the transaction is still subject to the approval of shareholders from both companies. Taiba Investments signed a binding implementation agreement in April to make an offer to acquire 100 percent of Dur Hospitality’s shares in exchange for issuing new shares in Taiba. Building firm targets rival in $145m deal to stem losses Mergers bloom in Mena with deals worth $26bn Saudi firms scrap hotel joint venture as costs spiral Dur operates more than 30 hotels in the kingdom under its own brands Makarem and Shada, as well as through partnerships with global names including Marriott and the Intercontinental Hotel Group. The company’s operating revenues increased during the first quarter of 2023 by 15.4 percent to SAR168 million on the back of the recovery of Umrah season and high demand for hotels in Riyadh. Hotel growth Saudi Arabia is experiencing unprecedented growth in hotel development. Total costs for all the hotel rooms planned in the kingdom is estimated at $37.8 billion, according to property consultancy Knight Frank. By 2030, 315,000 hotel keys will be completed, it said. The Taiba/Dur transaction would be the latest in a buoyant mergers and acquisitions market in the Middle East and North Africa. Under the proposed deal, Dur shareholders will receive one Taiba share for every share they hold in Dur, which will be delisted from the Tadawul exchange. Saudi legal firm K&A advised Taiba Investments on its share exchange deal, describing it as the first such transaction involving two listed real estate and hospitality companies. Taiba Investments reported revenue of SAR330 million in 2022, 60 percent of which was generated through its tourism assets.
