Accor buys Swissôtel, Fairmont and Raffles
The deal sees Accor take control of FRHI Hotels & Resorts’ portfolio of 155 properties, of which 40 are under development.
It will expand Accor’s luxury portfolio to 500 hotels, including the Savoy in London, the Plaza in New York and the Raffles hotel in Singapore.
The French group said it will pay for the acquisition with a cash payment of £553m and by issuing 46.7m new Accor shares, worth about £1.3bn by Wednesday's closing price.
It has signed an agreement with the Qatar Investment Authority, Kingdom Holding Company of Saudi Arabia, and Oxford Properties, an Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS).
The two Middle Eastern investors will become major shareholders in the company, with 10.5 per cent and 5.8 per cent of the share capital respectively.
Sébastien Bazin, chairman of Accor, said: “This is an outstanding opportunity to add three prestigious brands – Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel – to our portfolio, and a great step forward for AccorHotels.
“The transaction will also enable the Group to consolidate its shareholder base, with the arrival of two high-profile investors that both have extensive expertise in the hospitality industry.”
FRHI’s portfolio spans 34 countries and includes over 56,000 rooms - of which 13,000 are under development - and over 45,000 employees.
Accor said the acquisition would broaden its ‘geographic footprint in the luxury segment’, and allow the hotel giant to adapt its offering to meet the expectations of ‘an increasingly demanding clientele’.
The move is the second major hotel takeover in a month, after Marriott International bought Starwood Hotels & Resorts in a $12.2bn deal.
