The sovereign wealth fund of Qatar is set to become the largest shareholder in Fairmont Raffles Holdings International (FRHI), following a $847 million deal.

Kingdom Holding Company confirmed in a statement the hotel chain had agreed to sell 40 per cent of its capital to Cayman Islands-based Voyager Partners and QD Hotel & Property Investment Limited (QDHP).

QDHP is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qatari Diar, the principal real estate investment entity of the Qatar Investment Authority, which is chaired by HRH prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud.

Commenting on the transaction, prince Alwaleed said: “I am delighted to welcome both Voyager and QDHP as our new and strategic partners in FRHI.

“The selection of FRHI as their flagship hotel entity, and the significant cash investment made, underlines the strength of FRHI’s brands and management capabilities and provides assurance that FRHI’s growth on a global basis will be among the highest in the industry.”

Under the agreement, Voyager has acquired for a combination of cash and other considerations a 40 per cent shareholding in FRHI.

In addition, QDHP has undertaken to provide FRHI with a number of future management contracts for hotels that will be branded as either Fairmont, Raffles or Swissotel.

In addition, QDHP will work closely with its various stakeholders and FRHI on branded hotel management opportunities in the future.

As a result of these agreements, Kingdom Holding Company will become the second largest shareholder in FRHI, and Colony Capital will become Fairmont’s third largest shareholder.

Fairmont Raffles

Fairmont Raffles is a Toronto, Canada-based hotel chain. The company manages three brands of hotels - Raffles, Fairmont and Swissôtel - with 88 hotels and resorts in 27 countries worldwide.

Its flagship property is the iconic Raffles Hotel, Singapore.