The holding company of the Banff Springs Hotel and Chateau Lake Louise has been sold to Europe’s largest hotel operator as part of a $2.9 billion deal.
FRHI Hotels & Resorts, the parent company of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, will soon be joining Paris-based AccorHotels.
“The assets have not been sold. The holdings company has,” said Angela Moore, Fairmont’s regional director of public relations.
“Fairmont Hotels & Resorts as a management company/brand has been acquired by AccorHotels, not the ownership of actual real estate, including Fairmont Banff Springs or Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.”
Officials with AccorHotels said the deal is a great opportunity to add three prestigious brands – Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel – to its portfolio.
“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,” said Sébastien Bazin, chairman and chief executive officer of AccorHotels in a statement.
“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.”
AccorHotels will pay for the acquisition by issuing 46.7 million new Accor shares and a cash payment of $840 million.
Qatar Investment Authority and Kingdom Holding Company of Saudi Arabia are to become major shareholders, with 10.5 per cent and 5.8 per cent of the share capital respectively.
AccorHotels has a diverse portfolio located in 94 countries, more than 3,800 properties and 20 recognized luxury, midscale and economy brands, including Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Grand Mercure, and Novotel.
