Saudi PIF to buy 30% stake in travel firm Almosafer

The Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has signed a pact to acquire a 30% stake in local travel and tourism company Almosafer for SAR1.55 billion ($412 million).

Almosafer is a subsidiary of the Seera group, which is a listed entity.

PIF, which manages assets in excess of $620 billion, is entitled to an earn-out amount of SAR386 million, it said in a filing on the country’s stock exchange.

The deal will also see the Seera Group hive off its destination management company Discover Saudi as well as its Hajj and Umrah travel operator Mawasim, under Almosafer.

Almosafer will use the proceeds of the stake buy to expand its business, including investing in tourism assets and products and also better customer service and tourist experiences.

The deal comes just four months after Almosafer inked a deal with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to boost tourism between Thailand and the Gulf region. In March, the Saudi government had ended a travel ban and allowed its nationals to travel to Thailand.

Almosafer and the Thai government’s tourism authority will develop niche markets including sports tourism, luxury tourism and health and wellness tourism.

Since the travel ban ended, Almosafer has seen a huge spike in demand for travel to the southeast Asian country from Saudi Arabia.