Prince to float hotel assets
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the world's fifth richest man according to Forbes magazine, has said he intends to float $1bn (£575m) of his hotel assets on the London and Dubai stock markets by the end of the year.
The Prince, who was recently linked to the InterContinental hotel sale in Paris has an estimated $24b (£13.8b) fortune.
He told the Times he intends to sell shares in his company Kingdom Hotels International and float a portfolio of hotels in the Middle East and Africa, whilst retaining his stakes in leading European properties such as London's Savoy hotel and George V in Paris.
Kingdom is a joint venture partnership set up by the Prince in 2004. He retains a 25% personal stake, the Bank of Scotland owns half and Fairmont Hotels has the remaining quarter share.
The Prince also owns a 5% stake in Fairmont.
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