Under the contract, initially disclosed in July 2023, the TMG, through its hospitality arm ICON, will increase the capital of Legacy Hospitality Company, the owner of the hotels.

The TMG said it has already transferred the agreed-upon deposit for considering the transaction to an escrow account in the Egyptian banking sector to transfer it to Legacy Hospitality, read the statement.

This deal is expected to expand the TMG's operational hotel rooms base in Egypt, adding 2,500 rooms. With this acquisition, ICON's total number of owned and to-be-developed rooms will reach 5,000, making TMG the largest luxury hospitality platform in the country, according to the statement.

ICON, which has a track record of building and owning Egypt's most luxurious hotels, owns four operational hotels: Four Seasons Cairo at Nile Plaza, Kempinski Nile Hotel Cairo, Four Seasons Sharm El-Sheikh, and Four Seasons Alexandria at San Stefano.

The seven hotels included in ICON's acquisition are the Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Aswan, Mövenpick Resort Aswan, Sofitel Winter Palace Luxor, Steigenberger Hotel Tahrir, Steigenberger Cecil Hotel Alexandria, Marriott Mena House Cairo, and Marriott Omar Khayyam Zamalek.

“The acquisition is in line with the group's strategy to maximize the recurring income activities for the company in the medium term, boosting its foreign currency resources, as well as creating additional spare liquidity for future dividend pay-outs and/or reinvestment in quality recurring income assets,” the TMG noted.

TMG expects the acquisition deal to double the USD revenues of ICON's owned hotels in 2024, surpassing $250 million.

It also expects further revenue growth in the coming years due to planned renovations and upgrades of the seven hotels, commercial strategy improvements, and new ICON hotels opening.

Egypt, currently facing a USD crunch, is undertaking a broad privatization programme to increase the private sector's involvement in economic activities and attract foreign currency.

The government intends to make 32 state-owned companies in 18 sectors available to strategic investors.