Accor announces today that it has completed the sale of an 85.8% stake in Orbis to AccorInvest for an amount of €1.06 billion (AUD$2.06 billion).
In this very same week, the Group has also completed the sale of Mövenpick hotels’ lease portfolio with a €430m positive impact on net debt.
Against an uncertain global backdrop, the two transactions were successfully completed within the same timeframe and on the same terms as those announced in December 2019. These transactions further strengthen Accor’s agility and its financial position.
Since the publication of its 2019 results on February 20, 2020, Travel & Leisure markets have declined very significantly, owing to the expansion of the COVID-19 into new geographical areas. This in turn resulted in the deployment of exceptional measures to limit travel as well as public and private events.
Through the end of February, the Group recorded a 4.5% decline in its RevPAR on the same period in 2019 like-for-like. RevPAR in February was down by 10.2%. Over the first two months of the year, this net decline in activity due to COVID-19 has had a €20 million impact on EBITDA. Since the last week of February, we have seen a strong acceleration of the decline in the activity across Europe, particularly in Italy, France and Germany.
The rapidly changing environment limits our ability to fully assess the financial impact of COVID-19 on our activities. Nonetheless, the Group has implemented material savings measures to mitigate the downturn in activity and benefits from a robust financial position.
This means we can confidently tackle the situation and accelerate our share buyback program while maintaining our Investment-Grade commitment. Press release MARCH 11 TH, 2020 The Group is continuing to closely monitor the situation and markets across the globe. Action plans will be adapted accordingly.
Sébastien Bazin, Chairman & CEO, said: “I have no doubt, capitalizing on our extraordinary, talented and experienced team members, our strong brand powerhouse and our global market leadership positions, we will weather the storm possibly stronger than ever”.