Private-equity companies KSL Capital Partners and KKR have
agreed to acquire Apple Leisure Group from Bain Capital for an undisclosed
price.
The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of
2017.
Apple Leisure Group is the parent of wholesalers Apple
Vacations, Travel Impressions and CheapCaribbean.com; all-inclusive resort operator
AMResorts; and destination-management companies Amstar and Worldstar.
The buyout of Apple Leisure Group is further investment
churn in the all-inclusive sector. On Tuesday, Playa Hotels & Resorts said
it will become the first all-inclusive resort company to go public. AMResorts
oversees nearly 60 resorts under six brands -- Dreams, Sunscape, Secrets,
Zoetry, Now and Breathless -- throughout Mexico, South and Central America and
the Caribbean.
The Apple Leisure Group deal is KSL Capital Partners' second
in the past month to increase its exposure to the warm-weather resort market.
In November, KSL reached an agreement to acquire Honolulu-based Outrigger
Hotels and Resorts.
KSL's other travel investments include ski resort company
Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows and the Monarch Beach Resort in Southern California.
Apple Leisure Group was founded as Apple Vacations in 1969.