SINGAPORE -- Raffles Holdings, parent of Raffles International,
will pay $243 million to acquire Swissotel Hotels & Resorts, a
deal that will more than double the Raffles portfolio to 39
properties in 17 countries. The deal is to close May 31.
Raffles, which will continue to operate the 23 Swissotel
properties under their existing names, has only one U.S. property,
the Raffles L'Ermitage in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Swissotel becomes the latest in a long line of hotel brands to be
divested by an airline to raise cash. Its owner, SAirGroup, parent
of Swissair, is trying to restructure after losing $1.7 billion in
2000.
The Swissotel portfolio includes seven hotels in the Americas;
its U.S. properties are in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston and
Washington.
Raffles International, the management division of Raffles
Holdings, has 16 properties worldwide, under its Raffles and
Merchant Court brands.
The combined group also has five hotels in development: the
Swissotel Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt; the Swissotel Berlin; the Raffles
L'Ermitage Berlin; the Raffles Resort Mallorca in Spain, and the
Swissotel Frankfurt.