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2016-10-17
Saudi Oger has begun talks with potential buyers for its 20.93 percent stake in Arab Bank ARBK.AM in a deal that could raise about $1 billion for the embattled construction giant, sources aware of the matter told Reuters. Oger was one of two large Saudi contractors charged with implementing the kingdom's grand infrastructure plans before the fall in oil prices and consequent state spending cuts left the company facing a multibillion-dollar debt restructuring to stave off collapse. A small number of potential buyers from Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East have started negotiations, five sources said on condition of anonymity because the information had not been made public. A spokesman for Saudi Oger, which is owned by the family of former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, did not respond to requests for comment. Hariri’s political offices in Beirut said it was a matter on which only Saudi Oger could comment. Among the interested parties vying for the Arab Bank stake is Saudi Arabia's al-Hokair family, two Gulf-based sources said. The family is best known for its Fawaz Al Hokair 4240.SE fashion retail business, the Middle Eastern franchisee for brands including Zara and banana republic, but also has interests in real estate and hospitality, as well as finance and investments through its FAS Capital arm.
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