Accor reports signing an agreement to sell its U.S. Economy Hotels Division to an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII, for a total value of $1.9 billion. The network includes Motel 6, the iconic North American brand, and Studio 6, an extended-stay economy chain, and comprises 1,102 hotels (107,347 rooms) in the U.S. and in Canada.
"I am delighted by the transaction signed with Blackstone, which ensures the future of Motel 6 and its teams in North America, where we will remain present with luxury and upscale flagships under the Sofitel and Novotel brands," said Denis Hennequin, chairman and CEO of Accor. "This deal will provide Accor with additional resources to address the tremendous growth potential in the Asia Pacific region, in Latin America and in Europe, where the leadership of our brands is one of the key drivers of our future growth."
Jonathan Gray, global head of real estate at Blackstone, said, "Although Motel 6 will be operated on a stand-alone basis, similar to other lodging investments we have made on behalf of our investors, we plan to invest significant capital in the Company’s properties and to accelerate the expansion of the franchise base."
As a result of the transaction, Accor will reduce its net debt by approximately €330 million. The transaction is scheduled to be completed in October 2012.
Accor, a leading hotel operator and market leader in Europe, is present in 92 countries with more than 4,400 hotels and 530,000 rooms. Accor's portfolio of hotel brands includes Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Novotel, Suite Novotel, Mercure, Adagio, ibis, all seasons/ibis Styles, Etap Hotel/Formule 1/ibis budget, hotelF1 and Motel 6.
Visit www.blackstone.com