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AccorHotels shareholders have given the green light to finalise its acquisition of FRHI Holdings, the parent company of Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel.
The three luxury hotel brands comprise of 154 hotels and resorts across five continents, including the Savoy in London, Raffles Singapore and the Plaza in New York.
The merger was announced in December, but was approved today (12 July) in a shareholders meeting.
The deal, which is believed to be worth around £1.9bn, will see $840m (£634m) paid to Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) of Saudi Arabia, along with 46.7 million AccorHotels shares.
The transaction gives QIA and KHC respective stakes of 10.4% and 5.8% in AccorHotels.
Chris Cahill, who worked for FRHI for 19 years, has been appointed to the newly created role of CEO of luxury brands and will lead the integration of the new properties into the company’s portfolio.
Meanwhile, the shareholders also approved the appointment of six new directors; Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo and Ali Bouzarif, proposed by Qatar Investment Authority; Sarmad Zok, proposed by Kingdom Holding Company; and Jiang Qiong Er, Isabelle Simon and Natacha Valla as independent directors.
Sébastien Bazin, chairman and CEO of AccorHotels, said: “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.”
