French accommodation giant AccorHotels has acquired Australia’s biggest hotel group, Mantra, for $1.2 billion.
The deal will see Mantra, which has 138 hotels in Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Bali, and brands such as Peppers, BreakFree and Art Series, delisted from the ASX.
The $3.96 a share cash offer meant Mantra had implied market capitalisation of $1.182 billion.
The business has around 22,000 rooms and more than $8 billion in assets under management, and an annual turnover of more than $660 million.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission approved the takeover of the country’s biggest hotel operator chain in March, concluding that the two groups operated in different market segments.
The deal will give Accor, which first came to Australia in 1991 with the Novotel at Sydney’s Darling Harbour, 330 properties across Australia. It is the largest hotel group in the Asia-Pacific region with 900 hotels and resorts.
The company’s brands range from Sofitel to Pullman, Swissôtel, Ibis and Fairmont.
Mantra will continue to operate as a separate, Queensland-based business under Accor’s ownership, with Mantra Group leadership team on the Gold Coast reporting to AccorHotels Pacific COO Simon McGrath.
“Mantra’s brands and properties perfectly complement the AccorHotels network and will enable us to provide new destinations and new experiences for our guests,” he said.
“Our innovation in economic business models, brands and customer initiatives has fueled our growth over the last 27 years and the Mantra Group has built an innovative business focused on the best partnership experience for its 10,000 strata title owners.”
For Mantra Group CEO Bob East its the end of an era after the business put its shares in a trading halt on May 23 at $3.95.
The conditional takeover from Accor first emerged in October 2017, leading Mantra’s share price to jump 17% on the day.
“I am immensely proud of the great company we’ve built and what we’ve achieved as an Australian-based business,” he said.
“It’s been an enjoyable journey for me leading the team since 2007 through to our float on the ASX in 2014 and now closing this deal with AccorHotels.”
