By JAMES WILKINSON
Accor has sold its stake in the recently acquired Mirvac Wholesale Fund to A-HTRUST, a publicly listed company the Paris-based chain will retain a share in.
Accor’s 21.9 per cent stake in the Ascendas Australia Hospitality Fund (formerly known as Mirvac Wholesale Fund) was sold for AUD$65.6 million and the purpose of the sale had been announced with the Mirvac acquisition.
The Ascendas Australia Hospitality Fund comprises seven properties, six of which are operated by Accor with the exception of the Courtyard by Marriott Parramatta hotel.
Accor partnered with Ascendas – retaining a 6.9 per cent stake for an investment of AUD$37.5 million – in the creation of A-HTRUST, one that will be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange and is set to become one of the largest publicly listed Hotel Investment Trusts in the Asia-Pacific region.
Along with the sale of its share in the Ascendas Australia Hospitality Fund, Accor also sold the 305-room Novotel and 401-room Ibis hotels in Beijing Sanyuan to the new Trust for AUD$63.3 million.
The new Trust is set to provide significant opportunities for Accor in the Asia-Pacific region, with the chain being granted a “right of first offer to manage future acquisitions when the hotels are not operated under a pre-existing management contract”, according to Accor.
In return, A-HTRUST will “benefit from a right of first offer to purchase hotel properties put on sale by Accor in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Australia and India)”, Accor said.
Accor’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Denis Hennequin, welcomed the A-HTRUST deal.
“This operation highlights once again our capability to attract leading investors,” he said.
“After the successful acquisition of Mirvac in Australia and New Zealand, we consolidate our presence in the Asia-Pacific region with an extremely well established partner, through an investment vehicle that will allow us to speed up both our expansion, but also our asset-management policy in the region.”
According to Accor, the sale of the ibis Sanyuan in Beijing is subject to administrative authorisations applying in China.