Ann: Becoming a substantial holder, page-6

Well, an interesting buy in indeed.

They're basically an investment company, taking other people's money and pooling it. Looks like they typically leverage real estate, hotel management, manage investment funds. But they seem to also do capital raising and are an advisory service.

So it would appear in this instance, if they're going with ALC, they would naturally see a good strategic fit between ALC's operations and their investment portfolio. Especially if they see ALC as having growth potential and aligning with their societal impact (it mentions it in their values and ESG commitment). Might also provide them with exposure to tech businesses, so it's a way to tap into these growing markets while also leveraging their own expertise. But definitely ESG principles looks to be the alignment here. So their clients must be ones that specifically want to invest in companies that are good for the world.

Either way it's a vote in confidence in ALC's future - it's their way of saying ALC is a sound investment in their opinion any way. How the market takes it is another thing entirely. They seem to be very very busy across the board, acquiring another company (prospa) and releasing a few new hotels they obviously head. So ALC is just another strategic move amongst other strategic moves.