Thai hotel group enters Europe with €294m Portuguese deal

Asian hotel investor Minor International (Mint) has entered the European market by acquiring Portuguese operator Tivoli Hotels & Resorts for €294.2 mln.

The deal, the largest ever hospitality transaction in Portugal, will add 12 hotels in Portugal and two in Brazil to Mint’s portfolio, which now comprises 145 properties in 22 countries in Asia, Africa, Australia, South America and Europe.

Bangkok-based Mint said the purchase price was equivalent to €102,000 per room, which represented a ‘highly attractive valuation for well-located assets in a strong European market’. The Tivoli business generated revenue of €121 mln in 2015 and a normalised EBITDA of €31 mln.

In the past two years the group has invested more than €550 mln in hotel projects, including a joint venture with Sun International in Southern Africa, new hotel projects in Australia and Malaysia and investments with existing joint venture partners Rani Investment and Elewana Collection in southern and eastern Africa.

Dillip Rajakarier, COO of Minor International, said: ‘The Tivoli acquisition further cements MINT’s position as a world-class hotel operator, with a hotel portfolio now extending to Europe and South America. Looking forward, we have already planned further investment into the Tivoli hotel assets and its operating and distribution infrastructure to realize the full potential of this strategic investment.’