ICON, a subsidiary of Talaat Mostafa Group (TMG) Holding, has successfully acquired a 51% stake in Legacy Hotels, which owns historic hotels in Egypt. Through a capital increase, the final acquisition agreement grants ICON a majority stake with full management rights in Legacy, according to a bourse disclosure to the Egyptian stock exchange on Sunday.
TMG owns 83.3% of ICON’s shares.
The group transferred the agreed deposit to a foreign account within the banking sector, awaiting completion of capital increase procedures for transfer to Legacy Hotels, the real estate developer said. In December, TMG’s ICON finalized an $882 million deal to acquire a 39% stake in Legacy Hotels, owning seven historical state-owned hotels.
The seven hotels are Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Aswan, Mövenpick Resort Aswan, Sofitel Winter Palace Luxor, Steigenberger Hotel Tahrir, Steigenberger Cecil Hotel Alexandria, Marriott Mena House Cairo, and Marriott Omar Khayyam Zamalek. Before the finalization of the deal, the seven hotels were under the ownership of the Egyptian General Company For Tourism and Hotels (EGOTH).
In January, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign fund ADQ and ADNEC Group signed a definitive agreement for a strategic acquisition, involving a capital increase, acquiring a 40.5% stake in the leading Egyptian real estate developer Talaat Mostafa Group’s hotel arm, ICON.
IPO program
Amid Egypt’s severe shortage of US dollar liquidity, the Egyptian government is prioritizing progress in its initial public offering (IPO) program announced over a year ago. As part of the IPO program, the government announced in 2023 the consolidation of the seven state-run hotels under one company to facilitate their offering to strategic investors. This move coincides with Egypt’s ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to complete the first and second reviews of the ongoing $3 billion deal, approved in December 2022. Additionally, Egypt aims to secure additional finances amidst the repercussions of the Israeli-Palestine conflict.
Under the ongoing program, Egypt is committed to increasing the private sector’s share in the Egyptian economy, aiming for it to lead economic growth and serve as the primary creator of new job opportunities.
