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In 2002, Al Jaber became known in Austria for the first time with the acquisition of the famous Grand Hotel from the japanese airline [[All Nippon Airways]]. He later acquired The Ring hotel on Kärntner Ring.
In 2002, Al Jaber became known in Austria for the first time with the acquisition of the famous Grand Hotel from the japanese airline [[All Nippon Airways]]. He later acquired The Ring hotel on Kärntner Ring.


In October 2006, Al Jaber bought the Corso Palace from Generali Versicherung, for about 70 million euros<ref>http://www.wirtschaftsblatt.at/archiv/unternehmen/scheich-kauft-palais-corso-61459/index.do</ref>.
In October 2006, Al Jaber bought the Corso Palace from Generali Versicherung, for about 70 million euros<ref>http://www.wirtschaftsblatt.at/archiv/unternehmen/scheich-kauft-palais-corso-61459/index.do</ref>.


In the beginning of 2008, Al Jaber propose to help financially troubled [[Austrian Airlines]] with investments through taking a 20% stake in the company. However, he withdrew his offer in May 2008 after the company published its negative quarterly results, accusing the company manager Alfred Ötsch of hiding him the level of trouble Austrian Airlines was facing<ref>http://austrianaviation.net/news-regional/news-detail/datum/2011/06/09/mohamed-al-jaber-sagt-engagement-ab.html</ref>.
In the beginning of 2008, Al Jaber propose to help financially troubled [[Austrian Airlines]] with investments through taking a 20% stake in the company. However, he withdrew his offer in May 2008 after the company published its negative quarterly results, accusing the company manager Alfred Ötsch of hiding him the level of trouble Austrian Airlines was facing<ref>http://austrianaviation.net/news-regional/news-detail/datum/2011/06/09/mohamed-al-jaber-sagt-engagement-ab.html</ref>.


In July 2008, Al Jaber took a 60% stake in [[Kneissl|Kneissl Holding GmbH]], an Austrian manufacturer of sports equipment. After several applications for insolvency and payment deadlines missed by Al Jaber <ref>http://www.kleinezeitung.at/nachrichten/wirtschaft/2670045/aufstieg-fall-skifirma-kneissl.story</ref>, JJA Beteiligungsverwaltungs GmbH bought the entire company back in december 2012 for 1,98 million euros, offering a 20% rate to the creditors<ref>http://diepresse.com/home/wirtschaft/economist/722406/Geld-an-Kneissl_Scheich-Al-Jaber-raeumt-auf</ref><ref>http://www.tt.com/Nachrichten/4217648-2/kneissl-gerettet-sanierung-des-scheichs-angenommen.csp</ref>.
In July 2008, Al Jaber took a 60% stake in [[Kneissl|Kneissl Holding GmbH]], an Austrian manufacturer of sports equipment. After several applications for insolvency and payment deadlines missed by Al Jaber <ref>http://www.kleinezeitung.at/nachrichten/wirtschaft/2670045/aufstieg-fall-skifirma-kneissl.story</ref>, JJA Beteiligungsverwaltungs GmbH bought the entire company back in december 2012 for 1,98 million euros, offering a 20% rate to the creditors<ref>http://diepresse.com/home/wirtschaft/economist/722406/Geld-an-Kneissl_Scheich-Al-Jaber-raeumt-auf</ref><ref>http://www.tt.com/Nachrichten/4217648-2/kneissl-gerettet-sanierung-des-scheichs-angenommen.csp</ref>.

Revision as of 14:36, 18 June 2012

Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber (born 1959 in Jeddah) is a Saudi Austrian businessman, known for hotel and resort investments through MBI International.[1] He lives in Paris, London, Vienna and Jeddah and is married with three children.

Al Jaber was listed as a Saudi billionaire in March 2012 by Forbes.[2]

Business operations

Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber is chairman and CEO of MBI International & Partners, headquartered in London.[3][4].

His MBI International group compromises the following companies:

MBI International & Partners and its companies are estimated to be worth more than 6 billion euro.[5]. In April 2011, Al Jaber announced that he owned 80% of the Group and mentioned a 300 million euro profit for the year 2010.[6].

International business

In 1982, Al Jaber founded Jadawel International Construction & Development. In 1989, JJW Hotels & Resorts was established in Portugal; it currently operates 60 hotel and leisure resorts in Europe and the Middle East. In 1992, AJWA Group for Agro and Food Industries commenced operations following the construction of the largest rice storage and processing facility in Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Islamic Port.

In 2003, Al Jaber opened negotiations to purchase J.A. Jones Construction, a US subsidiary of the failed Philipp Holzmann construction group. However, the negotiations failed.[7]. The same year, an Al Qaeda bombing attack took place in May at Al Jaber's Dorrat Al Jadawel residential compound in Riyadh. In February Al Jaber wrote to then US Defence Secretary Colin Powell in support of the removal of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.[8]

Austria

In 2002, Al Jaber became known in Austria for the first time with the acquisition of the famous Grand Hotel from the japanese airline All Nippon Airways. He later acquired The Ring hotel on Kärntner Ring.

In October 2006, Al Jaber bought the Corso Palace from Generali Versicherung, for about 70 million euros[9].

In the beginning of 2008, Al Jaber propose to help financially troubled Austrian Airlines with investments through taking a 20% stake in the company. However, he withdrew his offer in May 2008 after the company published its negative quarterly results, accusing the company manager Alfred Ötsch of hiding him the level of trouble Austrian Airlines was facing[10].

In July 2008, Al Jaber took a 60% stake in Kneissl Holding GmbH, an Austrian manufacturer of sports equipment. After several applications for insolvency and payment deadlines missed by Al Jaber [11], JJA Beteiligungsverwaltungs GmbH bought the entire company back in december 2012 for 1,98 million euros, offering a 20% rate to the creditors[12][13].

In 2009, JJW signed an agreement for the takeover and the expansion of the Palace Schwarzenberg Hotel in Vienna, along with Magnat Real Estate. However, 2 years later, project was still delayed for it had been ill-timed initially, so that JJW had still not funded the 20 millions euros promised for the stock. Magnat filed a complaint, which was settled amiably out of court in December 2011, for 2,65 millions euros. [14][15]

Tunisia

In March 2006, during a press conference in Tunisia, Al Jaber announced the implementation of the MBI Tunisia Fund. Local media indicated that this $65 million fund would serve as a bailout plan for local hotels facing financial difficulties.[16]

During the summer of 2007, the Tunisian Ministry of Tourism announced that Al Jaber and the Layco group of Libya had together acquired two luxury hotels in the centre of Tunis.[17].

London

In 2007, Al Jaber expanded the portfolio of the Guernsey-based JJW Hotels & Resorts group by acquiring The Eton Collection hotels for a reported £70 million. During the recession three years later, five of the hotels went into administration, although there were no employee redundancies. A further two hotels in the collection were unaffected.[18] Another group, Westmont Hospitality, purchased the five hotels for £55 million.[19] The London Berners Hotel, also owned by JJW Hotels & Resorts, was purchased by Marriott International.[20]

In 2008, Al Jaber personally guaranteed three loans contracted by his hotel and food companies from Standard Bank.[21]. Following failure to repay the loans, the bank took Al Jaber to court in 2011, resulting in the freezing of his assets, which Al Jaber declared resulted in a personal loss of $1.6 billion.[22] The case was settled after the two parties reached a private settlement in December 2011.[23].

France

In July 2008 Al Jaber announced his intention to invest more than one billion euro in the Tours de Levallois project.[24] However, Al Jaber dealyed the payment of 243 millions euros, and, in 2011, the cty of Levallois went to court. As a result, planning application was revoqued and the city recovered the building land. [25][26][27][28][29][30]

October 2008, he announced plans to acquire 12 hotels in France from the Starwood Capital Group for $2billion.[31]In February 2009, the agreement was extended to two additional hotels: the Crillon and the Louvres hotel.[32] However, JJW Hotels & Resorts failed to pay an additional €100 millions as a frontline payment, leading Starwood to end the agreement and seek alternative investors. As a result, both sides filed complaints for breach of contract: Starwood for Al Jaber’s non-payment, and Al Jaber for non-respect of the exclusivity clause, seeking a €675 millions compensation.[33] On the 8th of April 2010, the Paris Commercial Court ruled that JJW had breached its contractual engagements and therefore terminated the agreements between JJW and the plaintiffs in March 2009. Furthermore, the Court ordered JJW to immediately pay Starwood€100 million, in addition to the €50 million already paid.[34][35][36][37][38][39][40] In February 2011, the Paris Court of Appeal confirmed the guilt, but cancelled the €100 million compensation. [41][42]

In April 2012, heavily indebted and approaching the deadline for repaying a 95.6 million euro loan from Aareal Bank, JJW France requested the Paris Court of Commerce to place it under safeguards.[43]

Personal life

Al Jaber is founder, sole patron and Chairman of the MBI Al Jaber Foundation, which provides scholarships to graduate students from the Middle East and sponsors educational and cultural projects that promote better understanding between the peoples of the Middle East and the wider world. Through the MBI Foundation he helped to start Olive Tree, a scholarship programme that enables Israeli and Palestinian students to study together. He has also backed female education in Saudi Arabia and is a UNESCO special envoy.[44] Al Jaber founded the MBI Trust in London and subsequently endowed the MBI Al Jaber Chair in Middle Eastern Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London. In 2000, he was founding patron of the London Middle East Institute at SOAS, directed by the MBI Al Jaber Chair. Since 2005, through the MBI Al Jaber Foundation, has been a main partner of Connecting Cultures, an educational initiative that promotes dialogue with young people from the western and Arab world via wilderness expeditions[45] . In 2009 The MBI Al Jaber Building, which won a RIBA award for architectural excellence, was inaugurated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. In 2007, the MBI Al Jaber Foundation made a £1 million gift in support of the UCL Institute for Cultural Heritage. In 2007, Al Jaber agreed to invest 10% in the building of the Vienna Tourism University (Modul University Vienna), a project handled by the Vienna Economic Chamber[46].In 2012, the MBI Al Jaber Grand Hall was officially opened at the University of Westminster following a careful restoration of the historic Grade II listed hall, a project made possible by a donation through the MBI Al Jaber Foundation. [47] Also in 2012, MBI Al Jaber sponsored the International Conference of National Commissions for UNESCO "Euro-Arab Dialogue: Contribution to a New Humanism" held in Vienna and organized by UNESCO with the support of the MBI Al Jaber Foundation.[48]

Education and Awards

Al Jaber holds the following honorary degrees:

  • an Honorary Fellowship from Corpus Christi College, Oxford (2009)
  • an honorary Doctor of Science degree from City University, London (2004)
  • an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Westminster (2004)
  • an Honorary Fellowship of London University at the School of Oriental and African Studies (2002)
  • the ALECSO Gold Medal for his support of UNESCO projects aimed at promoting education, culture and scientific activities in the Arab World
  • a Gold Medal of honour for special achievements in the economic and cross-cultural educational sectors of Vienna presented by the Mayor of Vienna
  • the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) Gold Medal in recognition of his efforts to promote coexistence and foster a culture of tolerance and dialogue in a bid to enhance international cooperation. [49]

Controversies

In end of 2011, legal proceedings were filed against Al Jaber: as Chairman of the Board of Directors of AJWA group for Food Industries, the latter was accused of documents forgery and manipulation of stock prices. In December 2010, Al Jaber was trialed in abstentia, sentenced to two years in jail and fined 2 million Egyptian pounds ($344,600).[50] Decision was appealed, and the prison sentence was reversed in May 2011, but not the fines.[51][52] The fined having not been paid, the attorney general ordered the temporary freeze of Al Jaber’s and his family’s assets in February 2012.[53][54][55][56]

In Mai 2011, Al Jaber publicly denounced a defamation campaign by Austrian Media: those had pointed at financial difficulties met in several companies that Al Jaber had invested in in the country. He accused the newspapers of reporting one-sided version of events[57][58].

References

  1. ^ "US has plan to develop Baghdad's Green Zone", The New York Times, 5 May 2008.
  2. ^ Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, Profile, Forbes, retrieved 4 June 2012.
  3. ^ MBI International & Partners
  4. ^ Companies in the UK
  5. ^ Andre Exner, "Al Jabers Baustellen bleiben offen", WirtschaftsBlatt, 2 May 2011 Template:De icon
  6. ^ "profil: Mohamed Al Jaber dementiert finanzielle Schwierigkeiten", APA-OTS, 25 April 2011 Template:De icon
  7. ^ "Stabilisierung ist vorrangig: Verkauf von Holzmanns US-Tochter aufgeschoben", Handelsblatt, 30 April 2003 Template:De icon
  8. ^ "One bombed compound owned by pro-Western Saudi", CNN, 13 May 2003.
  9. ^ http://www.wirtschaftsblatt.at/archiv/unternehmen/scheich-kauft-palais-corso-61459/index.do
  10. ^ http://austrianaviation.net/news-regional/news-detail/datum/2011/06/09/mohamed-al-jaber-sagt-engagement-ab.html
  11. ^ http://www.kleinezeitung.at/nachrichten/wirtschaft/2670045/aufstieg-fall-skifirma-kneissl.story
  12. ^ http://diepresse.com/home/wirtschaft/economist/722406/Geld-an-Kneissl_Scheich-Al-Jaber-raeumt-auf
  13. ^ http://www.tt.com/Nachrichten/4217648-2/kneissl-gerettet-sanierung-des-scheichs-angenommen.csp
  14. ^ http://www.wirtschaftsblatt.at/home/oesterreich/branchen/scheich-al-jaber-zahlt-265-millionen-euro-fuer-streit-beilegung-500244/index.do
  15. ^ http://immobilien.diepresse.com/home/oesterreich/653187/Hotel-Schwarzenberg_Doch-kein-Geld-von-Al-Jaber
  16. ^ "Creation of $65m MBI Tunisia investment fund announced", Magharebia.com, 10 March 2003.
  17. ^ "Saudis and Libyans buy hotels in Tunis", Realigro Real Estate, 20 August 2007.
  18. ^ "Upmarket hotels group Eton collapses", Evening Standard, 17 June 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  19. ^ Janet Harmer, "Eton Group bought out of administration", Caterer and Hotelkeeper, 15 December 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  20. ^ Neil Gerrard, "Marriott buys Berners hotel for Edition brand", Caterer and Hotelkeeper, 9 November 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  21. ^ Jonathan Russell, "Saudi billionaire Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber accuses Standard Bank in court of conflict of interest", The Telegraph, 3 November 2011.
  22. ^ Bloomberg, [http://m.arabianbusiness.com/uk-dispute-cost-me-1-6bn-says-saudi-s-al-jaber-427588.html "UK dispute cost me $1.6bn, says Saudi's Al Jaber", ArabianBusiness.com, 29 October 2011.
  23. ^ "Saudi sheikh buys hotel group out of administration", ArabianBusiness.com, 15 December 2011.
  24. ^ "MBI International Invests Over 1 Billion Euros In Two Towers In Levallois-Perret", Zawya, 30 June 2008.
  25. ^ http://www.challenges.fr/economie/20110704.CHA5909/bnp-paribas-sauve-les-finances-de-levallois.html
  26. ^ http://levallois2008.typepad.fr/.a/6a00e009822d4988330133f5184021970b-pi
  27. ^ http://www.propertyeu.info/index-newsletter/tours-de-levallois-project-seeks-new-investors/
  28. ^ http://www.boursereflex.com/actu/2011/02/11/le_projet_des_tours_levallois_a_la_recherche_de_nouveaux_investisseurs
  29. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1YwshyLwmQ
  30. ^ http://www.leparisien.fr/hauts-de-seine-92/levallois-dit-adieu-a-ses-tours-jumelles-22-07-2011-1541054.php
  31. ^ Karam, Souhail (26 October 2008). "Saudi group in $2 billion hotel deal with Starwood: paper". Reuters.
  32. ^ http://www.lhotellerie-restauration.fr/journal/hotellerie/2010-11/Le-Crillon-passerait-sous-pavillon-saoudien.htm
  33. ^ http://www.challenges.fr/monde/20110214.CHA3486/le-cheikh-al-jaber-gagne-une-manche-dans-la-bataille-du-crillon.html
  34. ^ http://www.starwoodcapital.com/UploadedImages/JJW_Litigation.pdf
  35. ^ http://www.agefi.fr/articles/jjw-devra-payer-starwood-dans-le-dossier-du-crillon-1132682.html
  36. ^ http://www.lhotellerie-restauration.fr/journal/hotellerie/2010-04/Starwood-Capital-libre-de-vendre-ses-palaces-francais.htm
  37. ^ http://www.challenges.fr/entreprise/20100409.CHA8190/crillon-starwood-gagne-face-au-saoudien-jjw.html
  38. ^ "French court rules against JJW in Crillon dispute". Reuters. 9 April 2010.
  39. ^ http://archives.lesechos.fr/archives/2010/LesEchos/20654-135-ECH.htm
  40. ^ http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-eco/2010/04/09/97002-20100409FILWWW00478-crillon-la-justice-donne-raison-a-jjw.php
  41. ^ http://www.daily-bourse.fr/differend-avec-jjw-starwood-capital-perd-les-domma-Feed-AFP110214173332.cw2garh5.php
  42. ^ http://www.lepoint.fr/bourse/differend-avec-jjw-starwood-capital-perd-les-dommages-et-interets-en-appel-14-02-2011-1295260_81.php
  43. ^ Christophe Palierse, "Le groupe hôtelier du cheikh Al-jaber en procédure de sauvegarde", Les Echos, 13 April 2012 Template:Fr icon
  44. ^ Verjee, Neelam (December 24, 2005). "Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber". The Times. London. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  45. ^ http://www.connectingcultures.co.uk/partners.aspx?sitesectionid=29&sitesectiontitle=Partners. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  46. ^ http://diepresse.com/home/panorama/oesterreich/316437/Startschuss-fuer-private-TourismusUni?from=suche.intern.portal
  47. ^ http://www.mbifoundation.com/capital-grants/mbi-al-jaber-grand-hall-officially-opened-in-naming-ceremony. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  48. ^ http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/who-we-are/director-general/singleview-dg/news/irina_bokova_dialogue_is_a_lifeline_for_understanding_and_respect/. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  49. ^ http://www.isesco.org.ma/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=7201:isesco-director-general-awards-oragnaization%E2%80%99s-gold-medal-to-chiefs-of-unesco-and-mbi-al-jaber-foundation&Itemid=29&lang=en. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  50. ^ "Egypt sentences Ajwa chairman to jail in absentia". Reuters. 30 December 2010.
  51. ^ http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/12983/Business/Economy/Egypt-fines-Ajwa-chairman--million.aspx
  52. ^ "CORRECTED - Egypt court fines Ajwa nonexecutive chairman". Reuters. 26 May 2011.
  53. ^ http://www.amwalalghad.com/?tmpl=component&option=com_content&id=48870
  54. ^ http://www.akhbarak.net/articles/7417847-التحفظ_على_أموال_محمد_بن_عيسي_الجابر_على_
  55. ^ http://www.efsa.gov.eg/content/efsa2_ar/EFSA%20News/News198.htm
  56. ^ http://gate.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/6/43/175936/بورصة/أخبار-وتقارير/التحفظ-على-أموال-محمد-بن-عيسي-الجابر-على-خلفية-أزم.aspx
  57. ^ http://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20110502_OTS0232/sheik-al-jaber-wehrt-sich-gegen-einseitige-berichterstattung
  58. ^ http://derstandard.at/1303291352166/Ich-liebe-Oesterreich-Scheich-Al-Jaber-will-noch-mehr-investieren

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