Toronto's Four Seasons hotel is up for sale and could command as much as C$250 million. If the sale goes through at the expected price, it would be one of the most expensive deals ever for a Canadian hotel.
The hotel currently belongs to Kingdom Holding Co 4280.SE, an investment group owned by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who co-owns Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts with Bill Gates' Cascade Investment Management and founder Isadore Sharp.
The sources—requesting anonymity—said that the final sale price for the hotel would likely be between C$200 million to C$250 million. Hotel chains, private equity firms and high-net-value individuals are all likely to bid.
The decision to sell the hotel comes as a weak Canadian dollar increases interest from foreign buyers eager to diversify their holdings with Canadian assets, including real estate.
A unit of Kingdom Holdings called Kingdom Hotel Investments owns luxury hotels including the Plaza in New York and the Savoy in London, according to its website.
The Four Seasons asking price per room would exceed others in the country, including the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto, which fetched C$290 million or about C$567,500 per room last year, according to Colliers International Group Inc. Also last year, KingSett Capital Inc. and InnVest Real Estate Investment Trust purchased majority stakes in Toronto’s historic Fairmont Royal York hotel for C$187 million from Ivanhoe Cambridge, the brokerage said in its 2016 Canadian hotel investing report.
Four Seasons and KHC did not respond to requests for comment.