Singapore's icon Raffles Hotel gets acquired

French hospitality group AccorHotels has acquired Fairmont Raffles Hotels International Holdings (FRHI), parent of three luxury brands Fairmont, Swissôtel and the iconic Raffles Hotel.The acquisition deal followed an agreement signed with the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) of Saudi Arabia and Oxford Properties, an Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS).AccorHotels will pay for the acquisition by issuing 46.7 million new Accor shares and a cash payment of $840 million (€768 million) – Qatar Investment Authority and Kingdom Holding Company of Saudi Arabia are to become major shareholders, with 10.5% and 5.8% of the share capital respectively.The acquisition will mean that the French group now owns a collection of hotel assets with 155 hotels and resorts, of which 40 are under development.The acquisition of FRHI is said to provide AccorHotels with robust and global leadership in luxury hotels, a key segment in terms of geographic reach, growth potential and profitability, for long-term value creationFRHI’s hotel portfolio, expertise in marketing luxury hotels and sizeable footprint in North America, provide a stronger platform for AccorHotels to continueits aggressive worldwide expansion.Through the acquisition, AccorHotels hopes to position itself as a key player in the current industry consolidation process while maintaining substantial leeway to implement its transformation plan.The acquisition of these three global brands is targeted to enhance AccorHotels’ brand portfolio. The integration of Raffles, Fairmont and Swissôtel is set to broaden the Group’s geographic footprint in the luxury segment, and enable it "to optimise its luxury and upscale brands in order to adapt its offering to the expectations of an increasingly demanding clientele," it said in a press statement.AccorHotels aims to generate around €65 million in revenue and cost synergies thanks to the combination of brands, the maximization of hotel earnings, the increased efficiency of marketing, sales and distribution channel initiatives, and the optimization of support costs.Significant improvements will also be made in terms of customer data, thanks to the integration of a customer base including 3 million loyalty members, of which 75% are North Americans.