Luxury hotel and resort manager Four Seasons Hotels Inc. said Monday it received a proposal to take the company private for $3.7 billion, or $82 per share in cash.
The offer was made by Chairman and Chief Executive Isadore Sharp and Triples Holdings Limited, the controlling shareholder of Four Seasons, along with Kingdom Hotels International and Bill Gates' Cascade Investment LLC.
Kingdom Hotels is owned by a trust created by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud.
The company said it has set up a special committee of independent directors to consider the offer and make recommendations.
Sharp and Triples agreed Kingdom and Cascade would acquire the limited voting shares of the Four Seasons for $82 per share, a 28.4 percent premium over the company's Friday closing price of $63.87 on the New York Stock Exchange. Triples, which is the Sharp family's holding company, would keep its Four Seasons investment.
If the transaction is completed, Triples would hold about 10 percent of Four Seasons' shares through a separate class of special voting shares. The balance of the stock would be split equally between Kingdom and Cascade.
Sharp would remain Four Seasons chairman and chief executive, continuing to direct all aspects of day-to-day operations and strategic direction of the company, which would remain headquartered in Toronto.
If the deal closes, Sharp would receive $288 million in proceeds related to a long-term incentive agreement.
The transaction is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.