Following the approval of shareholders at the General Shareholders Meeting on July 12, 2016, AccorHotels Group officially announces the acquisition of FRHI Hotels & Resorts (FRHI) and its three prestigious luxury hotel brands: Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel. This addition of three remarkable brands instantly positions AccorHotels as a leading player in the global luxury hotel market, increases long term growth potential and profitability, and significantly expands the company’s footprint in North America, the world’s largest and most influential consumer market.
“Today is a great day for our Group. The acquisition of these three emblematic luxury hotel brands is a historical milestone for AccorHotels. It will open up amazing growth prospects, lift our international presence to unprecedented heights, and build value over the long term,” says Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AccorHotels.
Joining AccorHotels’ global network is a portfolio of globally admired brands, which includes management of many of the world’s most iconic and historic hotels located in key strategic cities around the world, including: The Savoy in London, Raffles Singapore, Fairmont San Francisco, New York’s The Plaza, Fairmont Le Château Frontenac in Quebec City, and Le Royal Monceau Raffles Paris.
Combining FRHI’s proven track record and deep expertise in operating and marketing luxury hotels, with AccorHotels robust global operating platform, extensive loyalty base and industry leading digital capabilities, means the Group is uniquely positioned to deliver the most profitable returns and best growth potential across all market segments.
“We remain committed to providing guests with unparalleled service, while also keeping the ambition to deliver exceptional return on investment for our shareholders and hotel owners,” added Bazin. “By leveraging the operational synergies between FRHI and AccorHotels, we are well-positioned to accelerate the growth of our luxury brands and offer guests even more exciting hotel choices and destinations to explore.”
Chris Cahill appointed as the Group’s CEO Luxury Brands
In support of the acquisition, and as part of AccorHotels’ larger strategy to strengthen its luxury and upscale business, the company has appointed Chris Cahill as the Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Luxury Brands. In this newly created role, Chris, who will also become a member of AccorHotels’ Executive Committee, will lead the FRHI integration process and be responsible for the strategy and global operations of AccorHotels Luxury Brands. This new structure will include Raffles, Fairmont, Sofitel Legend, So Sofitel, Sofitel, MGallery by Sofitel, Pullman and Swissôtel.
Chris is an experienced hotelier who has led several successful integrations, is familiar with multi-brand management and brings an extensive background in luxury operations, sales and marketing. With more than 30 years of hospitality industry experience, including 19 years working with FRHI and its predecessor companies, Chris is ideally positioned to lead the integration of the Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel brands into the AccorHotels portfolio, and will ensure AccorHotels’ luxury brands grow and prosper. He most recently served as Executive Vice President Global Operations at Las Vegas Sands Corp.
Closing Details
Following the approval of shareholders at the General Shareholders Meeting on July 12, 2016, the transaction with Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) of Saudi Arabia provided $840 million (€768 million) cash payment and the issuance of 46.7 million AccorHotels shares in consideration for the contributed FRHI shares. The transaction gives QIA and KHC respective stakes of 10.4% and 5.8% in Accor’s share capital. Ali Bouzarif and Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo from QIA and Sarmad Zok from KHC will now join AccorHotels’ Board of Directors.
AccorHotels plans to generate approximately €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 enhancements will also be made in terms of customer data, thanks to the integration of FRHI’s customer base that includes three million loyalty members, of which 75 percent are in North America.
The vast majority of Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel’s 154 hotels and resorts (of which 40 are under development) and 56,000 rooms spanning 34 countries and five continents are operated under long-term management contracts, with an average term of nearly 30 years; six hotels are leased and one hotel is owned. The Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel brands employ more than 45,000 colleagues worldwide.
经股东在2016年7月12日举行的股东大会上通过，雅高酒店集团（AccorHotels Group）正式宣布完成收购FRHI酒店集团及其三个久负盛名的奢华酒店品牌：费尔蒙，莱佛士和瑞士酒店。这三个卓越的品牌的加入使雅高酒店集团成为全球奢华酒店市场的领导者之一，带来长期的发展机遇和盈利能力，并显著拓展了集团在全球最大、最具影响力的北美消费市场的足迹。
雅高酒店集团主席兼首席执行官塞巴斯蒂安·巴赞（Sébastien Bazin）表示：“今天对于我们集团来说是意义重大的一天。收购这三个奢华酒店领域的象征性品牌对雅高酒店集团而言是一个历史性的里程碑。这将展开令人赞叹的发展前景，帮助我们在国际市场上达到前所未有的高度，从长远来看它将创造巨大的价值。”
加入雅高酒店集团的三个品牌是结合了标志性和历史性同时享誉全球的奢华酒店及度假村的独特组合，酒店均坐落在全球关键战略市场，其中包括：伦敦萨伏依酒店、新加坡莱佛士酒店、费尔蒙旧金山酒店、纽约广场酒店、魁北克费尔蒙芳堤娜古堡酒店和莱佛士皇家巴黎梦索酒店。
FRHI 成功的发展轨迹和对奢华酒店管理和市场营销方面的深厚专业经验，与雅高酒店集团充满活力的全球运营平台、广泛的忠诚客户群以及业内领先的数字化能力相结合，将帮助集团树立独特的市场地位，从而在所有细分市场获得最佳的盈利回报以及最强的发展潜力。
“我们将保持对客人一如既往的承诺并提供独一无二的高品质服务，与此同时为我们的股东及酒店业主带来优质的投资回报为目标。通过充分发挥 FRHI 和雅高酒店集团之间的运营协同作用，我们的良好定位将加速旗下奢华品牌的发展，在更多目的地为客人奉上更多令人兴奋的酒店选择，” 塞巴斯蒂安巴赞（Sébastien Bazin）补充道。
Chris Cahill担任集团全球奢华品牌酒店首席执行官
为了支持此次收购，作为雅高强化旗下奢华及高端业务的战略之一，集团已任命 Chris Cahill 担任全球奢华品牌酒店首席执行官。在这个新设立的职位上，Chris将成为雅高酒店集团执行委员会的成员，引领FRHI的整合进程并负责雅高酒店集团全球范围内奢华品牌的战略和运营。这一新的架构包括：莱佛士、费尔蒙、索菲特传奇、SO索菲特、索菲特、美憬阁索菲特、铂尔曼以及瑞士酒店。
Chris是一位经验丰富的酒店经理人，他曾领导过数次成功的并购，深谙多品牌管理并带来奢华酒店运营、销售及市场营销方面广泛的工作背景。凭借他在酒店行业30多年、其中包括19年与FRHI及其前身的工作经验，Chris是理想人选，他将引领费尔蒙、莱佛士和瑞士酒店品牌融入雅高酒店集团，同时确保雅高旗下奢华品牌的发展和繁盛。在此任命之前，他于拉斯维加斯金沙金团担任全球运营执行副总裁。
交易细节
经股东在2016年7月12日举行的股东大会上通过，与FRHI的交易以现金8亿4千万美元（7亿6千8 百万欧元）支付于卡尔塔投资局（QIA）及沙特阿拉伯王国控股公司（KHC），同時将发行雅高酒店集团4,670万新股。此次交易中卡尔投资局和沙特阿拉伯王国控股公司将分别拥有 10.4% 和 5.8% 的股份。来自卡塔尔投资局的Ali Bouzarif和Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo以及沙特阿拉伯王国控股公司的Sarmad Zok将加入雅高酒店集团董事会。
雅高酒店集团旨在通过品牌整合、最大化酒店收入、提高营销效率、开拓销售及分销渠道以及优化支持成本，创造约6,500万欧元的收入和形成成本协同效益。其他重要的提升还包括整合客户资源，FRHI的客户群将带来300万忠诚会员，其中75%位于北美市场。
莱佛士、费尔蒙和瑞士酒店拥有154家酒店和度假酒店（其中40家正在筹建中），56,000间客房遍布五大洲34个国家，其中绝大多数在长期管理合同下经营，平均剩余期限接近30年；六家酒店为租赁经营，一家为自有。莱佛士、费尔蒙和瑞士酒店在全球雇用超过45,000名员工。
