The Globalia Group, chaired by Juan Jose Hidalgo, managed to close the sale of part of its Be Live hotel chain to the US giant Hyatt and the Swiss fund Stoneweg.
Be Live has almost thirty hotels comprising 10,000 rooms. In Spain (10), Portugal (2), Morocco (3), Colombia (1), Cuba (5) and Dominican Republic (8), but only a dozen of these properties belong to Globalia or the Hidalgo family, who have come into play in this transaction.
In total, between the sale to Stoneweg and the agreement with Hyatt, the Hidalgo family will achieve an investment of more than 100 million euros. However, thanks to the improvement in the category of its assets, Globalia reaches the portfolio valuation levels it has been pursuing for some time, i.e., around 500 million euros.
On the one hand, with the respective sale the Stoneweg fund will buy ownership of the buildings where the 5-star Be Live Collection Palace of Muro are located, in Platja de Muro, and the 4-star Be Live Experience La Niña, located on Tenerife, Canary Islands. Following their complete refurbishment, both establishments will be managed by Hyatt.
The second part of the operation, where the North American hotel multinational Hyatt comes into play, affects the properties in the Dominican republic, which are owned by the Hidalgo family and will be managed by Hyatt, while the Hidalgo family remain the owners of the property allowing them to safeguard part of its empire.
Hyatt’s chairman for Europe, Africa and the Middle East, Javier Aquila, will avail of the agreement to expand its Sunscape Resorts and Spas brand in the Caribbean, a flagship aimed at family tourism.
Plans are to carry out significant investment in improving and renovation the Hidalgo properties, with will revalue the assets of the owners of Globalia in a transaction whose financial rationale goes beyond cash.
Transformed hotels in the Caribbean will open their doors under the new Hyatt brands this year, 2023.
A reminder that this agreement is added to the recent agreement between the Hidalgos and IAG to sell all of Air Europe to Iberia.
DMK Abogados represented Hyatt and Apple Leisure Group in the transaction.
Source:
Arecoa