Bill Gates' Cascade Investments

In a press conference on Monday to formally announce the move to take Four Seasons private, CEO Sharp said, "I do recognize that this announcement has probably come as a bit of surprise to all you." Lou Plasencia, president and CEO of the Plasencia Group Inc, says, "There was some conjecture in close circles, but it had not really gone public."

The deal could be a way for Sharp to semi-retire, says Sumner Baye, president of Hotel Network. "It will be interesting to see if he retires," Baye says, "if he's cashing out." For his part, Sharp said during the press conference that he will remain as chairman and CEO of the company even after it goes private and did not mention retirement as an option. He did, however, say the idea of the transaction was appealing to him because he knew eventually the company would need to be sold.

"Given that a change of ownership of Four Seasons was ultimately inevitable because someday my children would have needed to sell," Sharp said. "I began to think about the advantage of being able to select long-tem partners and to manage an ownership transition while I continue to be fully engaged in running the business."

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