Kingsway Capital has begun meetings with big tobacco firms as the company prepares to sell its stake in Dubai-based tobacco business Advanced Inhalation Rituals (AIR), reports Reuters.
Kingsway is the majority owner of AIR, and the company has held talks with potential investors, including BAT and Japan Tobacco, as part of a dual-track process where a seller pursues a sale and an initial public offering at the same time.
Al Fakher, which manufactures flavored molasses for shisha pipes, is AIR’s most valuable business. An investment in AIR would provide access to the shisha and e-shisha market in the Middle East and elsewhere.