Turkish chef and restaurateur Nusr-Et, aka Salt Bae, is the owner of Nusr-Et, a chain of luxury steak houses. The food entertainer became famous in 2017 as a meme for his technique for preparing and seasoning meat. The man who has a prominent gastronomic presence in Turkey, Greece, the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia is in talks to sell a stake to Qatar’s $450 billion wealth fund. According to Bloomberg, D.ream Group, owned by Turkish billionaire Ferit Sahenk’s Dogus Holding AS, may sell a 20% stake to the Qatar Investment Authority for about $300 million. People familiar with the matter asked not to be identified as the information is private.
A deal at that price would imply a valuation of $1.5 billion. Big numbers are expected after all; the man sells steaks worth a whopping $857 at his restaurants. The owner of D.ream Group, Ferit Dogus, is trying to raise cash and deliver on pledges it made to banks as part of a debt restructuring, according to Bloomberg. In addition to D.ream Group, other company shareholders include Singapore’s Temasek and London-based private equity firm Metric Capital Partners, who bought a 17% stake for $200 million in 2018, valuing the company at $1.18 billion.
