Fawaz Al Hokair announced today that it received an offer from a Dubai-based investment company (partly owned by its Chairman Fawaz Abdulaziz Al Hokair) to acquire its entire 100% stake in Spanish women’s wear brand Blanco (110 stores in Spain, 8 in Portugal and international franchise stores) for SAR350mn. The offer is being considered by the board and will then be subject to general assembly approval. The proceeds will be paid over five equal deferred installments with the first one due a year after the conclusion of the deal.   A sale would be positive if it goes through as it will provide a relief to bottom line given Blanco’s sizeable losses (SAR137mn in FY15/16, 20%+ of headline earnings) and that initial consumer reception of its revamped clothing line is seemingly weak. It is hard to be wholeheartedly positive, however, given that visibility on the company’s core Saudi operation is low evident by the strong discounting trend seen last quarter that drove KSA margins down over c10pp Y-o-Y. (Hatem Alaa, Nada Amin, Company)   Al Hokair: SAR44.39 as of 6 June 2016, Rating: Neutral, FV: SAR42.00 per share, MCap: USD2,486 mn, ALHOKAIR AB / 4240.SE