Bangkok, January 28, 2015: Minor Hotel Group (MHG), owner and operator of hotels and resorts in 19 countries across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and the Indian Ocean, today announces that it has made a strategic acquisition of six hotels and over 1,600 keys in Brazil and Portugal, and the Tivoli Hotels & Resorts brand for Brazil. The milestone EUR 168 million investment ($190,821,933 USD) represents MHG’s entry into the hospitality sector in two new continents and establishes Portugal and Brazil as MHG’s two strategically-chosen countries for future expansion into Europe and South America.
The Brazil acquisition comprises of two properties: the 220-key Tivoli Sao Paulo Mofarrej in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s main economic hub and most populous city; and Tivoli Ecoresort Praia do Forte, a 287-key resort in the heart of an ecological reserve on the coast close to Salvador in Bahia. In addition to the two properties, the acquisition comprises a strong hotel operating platform and the intellectual property rights to the Tivoli Hotels & Resorts brand for Brazil.
The investment also represents MHG making strategic asset acquisitions of four Tivoli properties in Portugal – one in the country’s capital and three in the Algarve, one of Europe’s premier tourism destinations. The properties are: the 306-key Tivoli Lisboa in the capital city of Lisbon; the 383-key Tivoli Marina Vilamoura; the 196-key Tivoli Marina Portimao and the 293-key Tivoli Carvoeiro. The Portugal acquisition comprises four properties that are being leased to a third-party who owns the Tivoli Hotels & Resort brand for Portugal.
The six hotels will continue to operate as Tivoli and Tivoli Collection, the two brands within Tivoli Hotels & Resorts. Owners of Tivoli Hotels & Resorts brands in Brazil and Portugal have existing co-marketing and co-distribution agreements which see a combined Tivoli portfolio of 14 hotels and over 2,900 keys in Brazil and Portugal. Tivoli is a member of Global Hotel Alliance which three of MHG’s existing brands – Anantara, AVANI and Per AQUUM – also belong to.
William E Heinecke, Chairman and Group CEO of Minor International (MINT), MHG’s parent company, commented, “In recent years, MINT has focused on expansion in Asia, Australia, the Middle East and Africa. With the current portfolio already starting to bear fruit, MINT is now looking beyond for compelling opportunities that will further expand its global coverage and steepen MINT’s long-term growth trajectory. The Tivoli Brazil portfolio not only generates immediate revenue and earnings contribution, it also allows MINT to leverage on this existing Brazil operating platform for potential expansion of MINT’s other brands and businesses into South America, and the four Portugal hotels will serve as our entry for MINT to build a strong business in Europe.”
Dillip Rajakarier, Group COO of Minor International and CEO of Minor Hotel Group, added, “Following the acquisition of Oaks Hotels and Resorts in Australia in 2011, Minor Hotel Group has completed a series of hotel investments, including a luxury brand in the Maldives, upscale properties in Vietnam and Cambodia and in 2014 we also significantly increased our presence in Africa, with the joint venture of hotels and mixed-use projects in Mozambique, and our partnership with Sun International in four further countries on the continent. The two additions in Brazil, together with the brand and operating platform, will complement well with our overall portfolio and seed MHG’s clustering plan for South America. Moreover, the four hotels in Portugal are highly strategic as we plan ahead for our scalable expansion in Europe.”
