AccorHotels Buys Luxury Hotel Brands

French hotel chain AccorHotels has announced it has acquired FRHI Holdings Ltd, the owner of the Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel brands, for $US2.9 billion ($4 billion).

FRHI Holdings Ltd is owned by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) of Saudi Arabia and Oxford Properties, an Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) company.

“This is an outstanding opportunity to add three prestigious brands – Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel – to our portfolio, and a great step forward for AccorHotels," AccorHotels CEO and Chairman Sébastien Bazin said in a statement.

"It offers us robust and global leadership in luxury hotels, a key segment in terms of geographic reach, growth potential and profitability, for long term value creation. In addition, the deal allows us to strengthen our human capital with FRHI’s widely respected and talented global workforce which has a proven track record in operating and marketing luxury hotels.

"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. This major acquisition demonstrates the Group’s agility in a fast-changing industry and will allow us to more effectively support our guests, clients and hotel owners. Through it, we are positioning ourselves as a key player in the current industry consolidation process while maintaining substantial leeway to implement our transformation plan."FRHI includes three of the most prestigious global luxury hotel brands: Raffles, Fairmont and Swissôtel. It has 155 hotels and resorts (of which 40 are under development), and more than 56,000 rooms (of which approximately 13,000 are under development). Its portfolio includes such legendary properties as Raffles Singapore, The Savoy in London, Shanghai’s Fairmont Peace Hotel, The Plaza Hotel in New York,

FRHI’s hotels and resorts span 34 countries across five continents, with 42 properties in North America, 2 in South America, 26 in Europe, 17 in Africa/Middle East and 28 in Asia-Pacific. They are located in the world’s major tourist destinations, particularly in the United States, the leading outbound travel market. The vast majority of hotels (108) are operated under very long-term management contracts, with average remaining terms of nearly 30 years; six hotels are leased and one hotel is owned.

His Excellency Sheikh Abdulla Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Thani, CEO of Qatar Investment Authority, said: “This deal generates the scale needed to drive the next phase of growth in our real estate and hospitality investments. QIA has confidence in AccorHotels and looks forward to becoming a significant shareholder.”

Image: Raffles Singapore