Hainan, China-based HNA Group has agreed to sell its stake in Radisson Hospitality AB and Radisson Holdings to a consortium headed by Jin Jiang International Holdings, which is controlled by the government.
This transaction comes after HNA Group has been selling assets to deal with the debt it accumulated from its acquisitions in recent years, according to Reuters. Bloomberg reports that this year alone, HNA sold out of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and its spinoffs for a combined $8.5 billion and began unloading its NH Hotel Group shares to Thailand’s Minor International Pcl.
This transaction could make Jin Jiang the world’s seventh-largest hotel operator with 344,000 rooms, STR estimates. Radisson Hotel Group's portfolio consists of more than 1,400 hotels operating or in development under its eight brands.
Reuters reports that, as part of the deal, the consortium agreed to buy 51.15 percent of the outstanding shares of Nasdaq Stockholm-listed Radisson Hospitality AB at 35 Swedish crowns ($3.87) per share, or a total of about 3 billion Swedish crowns ($332 million). The offer price represents a 5 percent discount to the company’s stock price at Thursday’s close.
HNA’s tourism unit in 2016 bought 100 percent of U.S.-based Carlson Hotels Inc for an undisclosed sum, including its 51.3 percent stake in Rezidor Hotel AB, which was later renamed Radisson Hospitality AB as part of HNA’s rebranding effort earlier this year, according to Reuters. HNA offered 34.86 Swedish crowns per share at the time.
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