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Bill Gates Gives Offer for the Four Season Hotel Chain

A company owned by both Bill Gates and a Saudi prince have recently announced that they have collaborated with the founder and CEO of one of the most famous hotel chains in the world, the Four Seasons, in a bid to take the company private for a whopping US 3.7 billion dollars. The offer was made by Four Seasons chairman and CEO Isadore Sharp. She founded the company in 1960 with one small hotel in downtown Toronto. The Toronto-based company said it has set up a special committee of independent directors to consider the offer and make recommendations.

Triples Holdings Limited, the controlling shareholder, along with Kingdom Hotels International and Gates? Cascade Investment LLC. Kingdom Hotels is owned by a trust created by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, believed to be the wealthiest businessman in the Muslim world. ?This transaction is intended to ensure the legacy of the Four Seasons. This proposal achieves all my objectives for Four Seasons and my family, and is the only one that I am prepared to pursue,? said Sharp. The face of business will definitely change for the hotel chain if this deal goes through.

Sharp would remain Four Seasons chairman and CEO, and she would continue to direct all aspects of daily operations and strategic direction of the company. The company would remain headquartered in Toronto. If the business deal goes through, Sharp would receive US 288 million dollar in proceeds related to a long-term incentive agreement.