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Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has made an offer to up its stake in luxury UK retailer Selfridges to 50% for a cash price of £1 million ($1.3 million), Bloomberg reported citing documents.
PIF currently owns a 10% share in Selfridges, with another 40% owned by the beleaguered property empire Signa, and the remaining 50% with the Thai retail conglomerate Central Group.
According to an insolvency report seen by Bloomberg and filed by Signa’s property group, PIF has made a cash offer for the 40% stake.
The Saudi wealth fund is currently undertaking due diligence with the help of advisers, the news agency reported, and as a creditor of Signa, the deal would reduce its claims against the group by as much as £52 million, according to the document.
Properties with Selfridges include sites at London’s retail hub, Oxford Street and Manchester.
Selfridges was bought by Austria’s Signa and Central in 2021 for £4 billon. However, following Signa’s collapse last year, the Thai company reportedly set its sights on a new partner.
Signa’s insolvency case is the largest in Austria’s history, a one-time sprawling group of companies founded by the Austrian tycoon, Rene Benko, which collapsed into bankruptcy at the end of last year.
With total estimated assets of $925 billion, Saudi’s PIF has several investments in the UK, including in Aston Martin and Newcastle United football club. Last month, Infrastructure giant Ferrovial also confirmed it had reached an agreement with French private equity fund Ardian and PIF to sell the bulk of its 25% stake in Heathrow airport while keeping 5.25%.
(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Brinda Darasha)