IHC's Alpha Dhabi acquires more hospitality assets as it expands Murban deal to Dh2.5bn

Alpha Dhabi Holding, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi's International Holding Company (IHC), acquired two more assets from hospitality investment firm Murban, which brought the combined value of its asset purchases to Dh2.5 billion ($681.2 million).

In the latest round of purchases, Alpha Dhabi Holding acquired Cheval Blanc Randheli resort in the Maldives and Etihad International Hospitality, a facility management company, from Murban, it said in a statement on Thursday.

The deal follows the holding company’s Dh1.7bn transaction in May through which Alpha Dhabi Holding assumed ownership of Murban's assets including St Regis at Saadiyat, Al Wathba Luxury Collection Desert Resorts and the Le Noir Café brand.

Opened in 2013, Cheval Blanc Randheli was Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy’s second hotel venture after LVMH established the first property, Cheval Blanc Courchevel, in France.

“This latest acquisition further expands Alpha Dhabi’s strong hospitality development division,” Hamad Al Ameri, managing director of Alpha Dhabi Holding, said.

“By adding Emirates International Hospitality … we are also becoming more vertically integrated and creating growth opportunities by leveraging our position as part of the wider group of IHC companies.”

The latest deal with Murban, which has an agreement in place to build another luxury resort in the Aceh province in Indonesia, will help Alpha Dhabi expand its portfolio of investments in the UAE and beyond.

Alpha Dhabi Holding, which was previously known as Trojan Holding, is a construction-focused group with more than 40,000 employees. It has built a range of projects, including mixed-use and high-rise properties, mass housing and infrastructure across the UAE. The group's hospitality development division has built hotels in the UAE, Morocco, Russia and the UK.

Alpha Dhabi became a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-listed IHC after it bought a 45 per cent stake in the group in March for an undisclosed sum.

IHC has been on an acquisition spree over the past 18 months at home and abroad. In May, the company’s subsidiary, Multiply Marketing Consultancy, acquired a minority stake in rideshare and taxi ad start-up Firefly for an undisclosed amount.

IHC has also bought a stake in California-based aerospace company SpaceX through a private equity fund and has invested in UK-based DNA sequencing company Oxford Nanopore technologies.

The holding company also has investments in Quantlase Imaging Lab, the company behind the rapid Covid-19 screening system operated on the border between Abu Dhabi and Dubai at Ghantoot and Tamouh Healthcare.