LVMH-backed L Catterton weighs selling stake in Saudi Arabia’s Bateel

L Catterton, the private equity firm backed by luxury French fashion house LVMH, is looking to sell its stake in Saudi Arabian gourmet food producer and restaurant chain Bateel, according to people familiar with the matter.

The investment firm is working with UBS Group AG on the sale, the people said asking not to be identified as the information is private. L Catterton, which invested in Bateel in 2015 to support an international expansion plan, is seeking to sell its entire holding of about 20%, according to one of the people.

New investors may also be offered the chance to buy additional shares in Bateel from the Al Sudairy family — who own a majority stake — to help raise money for the company’s expansion, the people said.

Representatives for UBS and Bateel declined to comment, while L Catterton didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Bateel began as a date farming business established by the Al Sudairy family in the 1930s before branching out into cafes and boutiques selling gourmet food. 

L Catterton’s investment was a relatively rare example of an international private equity investment into Saudi Arabia, which has been keen to attract more foreign fund managers. 

As part of that push, the kingdom’s nearly $1 trillion Public Investment Fund said in April that it would give BlackRock Inc. as much as $5 billion to invest in the Middle East and build a Riyadh-based investment team.