A unit of HNA Group said Wednesday it would buy closely held Carlson Hotels Inc., owner of the Radisson and Country Inns & Suites chains, for an undisclosed sum. The purchase includes Carlson's majority stake in Brussels-based Rezidor Hotel Group, which is publicly listed in Stockholm and manages more than 1,400 hotels across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Chinese buyers have been active in overseas deals this year, agreeing to at least $92.3 billion worth of foreign takeovers. Hotels have been a particular focus of that deal making. Beijing-based Anbang Insurance Group made an aborted $14 billion offer last month to buy Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. after it had agreed to a deal with Marriott International Inc.
In addition to the Anbang bid, Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels Group last year bought France's Louvre Hotels Group—the second-largest European hotel group—for 1.21 billion euros ($1.37 billion). HNA's latest hotel purchase comes after it bought a 15% stake last year in mid-scale U.S. chain Lion Hotels Corp. for an undisclosed sum.
HNA's biggest overseas deal to date has been a $6 billion bid in February for U.S. technology distributor Ingram Micro Inc. That deal is pending.
The Chinese firm, headquartered in a Buddha-shaped building on the scenic island of Hainan, has a complex business structure stemming from its origins as a joint venture between the provincial government and private investors led by company co-founder and chairman Chen Feng, a devout Buddhist.
HNA originally started as an airline to shuttle tourists to and from what was dubbed China's Hawaii.
Today, its flagship Hainan Airlines Co. is China's fourth-largest publicly listed airline by fleet size.
The company has since expanded into other areas such as logistics, hotels, retail, real estate and travel.
HNA Group recorded 190 billion yuan (US$29.3 billion) in revenue in 2015 and employed almost 180,000 people, according to its website. Since 2010, it has cut deals for at least $15.7 billion for overseas assets including a Swiss cargo handler and an Irish aircraft-leasing firm, according to data provided by Dealogic.
The Wall Street Journal reported in January that parent company Carlson was exploring alternatives for the hotel business. The Minnesota-based company also owns business travel manager Carlson Wagonlit Travel. HNA said it would maintain Carlson's headquarters in the U.S., taking a page from a playbook it often follows for overseas acquisitions, where it keeps local managers running the operation, according to a Harvard Business School case study.
HNA's chairman, 62-year-old Mr. Chen, is known for his affinity for modern business practices, having studied management practices at schools in Germany, the Netherlands and the U.S.
Source: Wall Street Journal by Wayne Ma and Kane Wu
from China Travel & Tourism News http://ift.tt/1iB6EFm
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