AccorHotels has signed an agreement to buy the Mantra Group, the largest Australian-based hotel and resort marketer and operator.
The acquisition is part of the French-based hotel group's plans for further expansion in Australia and will offer a new opportunity for growth in the apartment management market.
The Mantra Group has 127 properties and more than 20,000 rooms in hotels, resorts and serviced apartments across Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and Hawaii, under three key brands: Peppers, Mantra and BreakFree.
Sébastien Bazin, chairman and chief executive of AccorHotels said: "This operation will underpin our long-term growth in the Asia Pacific region. Mantra's portfolio would offer AccorHotels additional accommodation formats and a strong customer base to complement our successful hotel portfolio in Australia."
Chairman of Mantra, Peter Bush, said: "The AccorHotels offer represents an attractive proposition for Mantra and for our shareholders and the board unanimously recommends AccorHotels' proposal."
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, but it is anticipated the transaction should be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2018.
AccorHotels also confirmed it is in discussion with potential investors to sell part of the share capital of AccorInvest and hopes to sign an agreement before the end of the year.
The agreement follows another busy year for AccorHotels, including the acquisitions of Gekko, Travel Keys and Groupe Noctis, as well as a planned revival of the Orient Express hotel brand, the signing of a joint Novotel/Adagio site in Leicester, and a joint venture management agreement with Rixos Hotels. At the end of June, the group had a portfolio of 4,195 hotels, representing 597,132 rooms, and a pipeline of 910 hotels.
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