Clyde & Co advises Cenomi Retail on SAR 219 million sale of franchise rights to Abdullah Al-Othaim

Global law firm Clyde & Co has advised Cenomi Retail, a Saudi listed company and pioneering retail brand partner, on the SAR 219 million sale of its franchise rights (and related assets) for five brands to Abdullah Al-Othaim Fashion Company (a wholly owned subsidiary of Abdullah Al-Othaim Investment Company).

The brands include Aldo, Aldo Accessories, La Vie En Rose, Pedro and Charles & Keith. The transaction is expected to complete in Q2 of 2024 with the Aldo/Aldo Accessories franchise rights (and related assets) having transferred to Abdullah Al-Othaim Fashion company on 7 May 2024. The divestment forms part of Cenomi Retail’s ongoing transformation strategy to focus on champion brands within the fashion, electronics and food and beverage sectors.

The transaction is supplementary to a transaction concluded with Abdulla Al-Othaim Fashion Company earlier in Q1 of 2024 which involved a sale of franchise rights (and related assets) for 16 brands by Cenomi Retail who we advised as sell-side counsel.

Cenomi Retail is the largest franchise retailer in the Kingdom and the only listed business of its type in the Middle East. Founded by renowned businessman and property developer Fawaz A. AlHokair in partnership with brothers Salman and Abdulmajeed, Cenomi Retail has grown considerably since opening its first store in 1991 and is now active in over 900 stores across 108 shopping malls in 9 countries across the MENA and CIS regions. Abdullah Al-Othaim Fashion Company, is a subsidiary of Abdullah Al Othaim Investment Company, the operator of malls and entertainment centres in the Kingdom, the GCC, and Egypt.

Clyde & Co acted as lead counsel to Cenomi Retail. Clyde & Co’s cross-practice and cross-jurisdictional team was led by partner Chadi Salloum (corporate), legal director Amun Bashir (corporate), and trainee Urmika Mani (corporate). They were further supported by partner Sara Khoja (employment), senior associates Abdulaziz Alharthy (corporate) and Majed Alzaben (corporate), and associates Elodie Chalhoub (employment) and Jassar Aljohani (employment).

Clyde & Co has been operating in the Kingdom since 2009 and is one of the only fully-integrated international law firms operating in the Kingdom. With offices in Jeddah and Riyadh, Clyde & Co supports over 600 companies annually to successfully navigate the emerging commercial opportunities and challenges related to doing business in Saudi Arabia. Our dedicated Doing Business in Saudi Arabia Hub helps businesses stay informed and understand the latest developments and opportunities.

With over 30 years of experience in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), Clyde & Co is one of the largest international law firms with over 85 partners and over 540 staff operating through 10 offices and associated offices in Abu Dhabi, Cairo, Cape Town, Dar es Salaam, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Johannesburg, Nairobi, and Riyadh. Clyde & Co supports international and local organisations throughout the wider region with a full-service offering of local specialists across most business sectors and services of law, including commercial, commercial disputes, corporate, cyber risk, data protection & privacy, employment & immigration, finance, global recoveries, insolvency & reorganisation, intellectual property, international arbitration, projects & construction, real estate, regulatory & investigations, and technology, outsourcing & data.