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7/30/2017

Fawaz Alhokair Group Has Acquired a 10% Strategic Stake In Simit Sarayı

Istanbul, 17 July 2017 – Simit Sarayı today announced that Fawaz Alhokair Group signed a strategic partnership agreement to acquire a 10% stake in Simit Sarayı. Fawaz Alhokair Group will appoint Dr. Abdul Majeed Alhokair, Group Vice President and the driving force behind the Saudi Group’s F&B and retail business, as a member of the board of directors of Simit Sarayı. Fawaz Alhokair Group, one of the largest and most successful operators in the shopping mall, entertainment, F&B and fashion retail sectors in Saudi Arabia and the MENA region, signed a master franchise agreement with Simit Sarayı back in 2014 and successfully rolled out 50 Simit Sarayı stores in the MENA region to date. Under the master franchise agreement, Fawaz Alhokair Group plans to roll out more than 250 stores in the next 4 years and reach a total store portfolio of over 300 Simit Sarayı stores by the end of 2021. Fawaz Alhokair Group’s 10% minority investment not only deepens the strategic cooperation between Fawaz Alhokair Group and Simit Sarayı and creates value for both, but it also represents a significant milestone in Simit Sarayı’s successful international expansion strategy. Abdullah Kavukcu, Chairman and CEO of Simit Sarayı said: “We are very happy to have established a strong shareholder partnership with one of the leading international F&B retail companies Alhokair Group. We have had a very fruitful and successful master franchise relationship with Alhokair Group since 2014. This investment by Alhokair Group will help Simit Sarayı who is currently present in 21 countries continue on its journey to becoming a leading global F&B retail brand with roots from Turkey. I would like to especially thank my partners Haluk Okutur and Mehmet Tarakçı, our house bank Denizbank and its CEO Hakan Ateş”. Fawaz A. Alhokair, Founder and Chairman of Fawaz Alhokair Group said: “We are very excited to become a strategic shareholder in one of Turkey’s leading and iconic F&B retail companies. We believe in the development of the Turkish market and the global growth potential of Simit Sarayı. We have witnessed an outstanding operational and financial performance of Simit Sarayı stores in the MENA region over less than three years and are very impressed by the expanding global footprint of Simit Sarayı. We believe that together we can carry the company to new heights”. About Simit Sarayı Founded in 2002, Simit Sarayı is Turkey’s homegrown international F&B retail brand, serving fresh Turkish bagels and other popular Turkish bakery products in Turkey and international markets, through its popular retail stores. Simit Sarayı successfully expanded its international footprint between 2010 and 2016 through company owned stores and franchise agreements. By the end of 2017, the company will have 408 stores across 21 countries, including Turkey. Through its proven hybrid store roll-out model and its delicious bakery products, Simit Sarayı aims to continue rapidly expanding its international footprint as one of Turkey’s global brand ambassadors. About Fawaz Alhokair Group Fawaz Alhokair Group is one of the leading business groups in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia focusing on the shopping mall, entertainment, F&B and fashion retail sectors. The Group started in 1989 as a partnership by three brothers, Fawaz Abdulaziz Alhokair, Salman Abdulaziz Alhokair and Dr. Abdul Majeed Abdulaziz Alhokair as a retail apparel store operator with two menswear stores. Today, the Group has diversified from the fashion retail business into various other sectors. The diversification has further extended to cover non-retail business sectors such as real-estate, construction, financial services, health care and hospitality. The Group has expanded its business operations beyond the borders of the Kingdom and invested in retail and real estate sectors across the GCC countries, reaching to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), USA and Central Asia and Caucasus. The real estate division of the Group presently operates a network of over 16 shopping malls, managing over 1.6 million square meters of prime retail real estate. The fashion retail business is present across 16 countries, operates more than 2,100 stores representing more than 80 international brands.