Singapore's iconic 117-year-old Raffles Hotel has been sold, along with 40 other hotels and properties worldwide to US-based investment fund Colony Capital LLC for S$1.72 billion (US$1 billion), including debt, former parent Raffles Holdings Ltd said yesterday.
The deal includes all 41 hotels and resorts around the world marketed under the Raffles and Swissotel brand names.
Its most prominent establishment is the luxurious 103-suite Raffles Hotel in Singapore, built in 1887.
The hotel's colonial-style architecture houses a tropical garden courtyard, museum and Victorian-style theater.
The hotel is an official national monument named after the city state's modern founder, Sir Stamford Raffles, and is a known source of inspiration for writers W. Somerset Maugham, Joseph Conrad and Rudyard Kipling.
It has also played host to hundreds of celebrities ranging from Michael Jackson to Charlie Chaplin.
Colony Capital, which specializes in owning hotels and other hospitality assets, said it will retain the Raffles and Swissotel brands and plans to expand the chains, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.
"We deeply respect the historical significance of the Raffles Hotel Singapore and we consider it our responsibility to protect that legacy," Colony chief executive Thomas Barrack said.
CapitaLand Ltd, Southeast Asia's largest property developer that owns 59.7 percent of Raffles Holdings, said in a statement yesterday that it will gain S$605 million from the sale and plans to pay shareholders a special dividend of S$0.40 a share.
The cash price for the hotels is S$1.45 billion.
Colony Capital, a private investment firm based in Los Angeles, also owns a number of US casinos, including the Las Vegas Hilton and Resorts International in Atlantic City.
The transaction is subject to approval by shareholders. CapitaLand has said it will vote in favor of the sale, Raffles said.
Explaining the reason for the sale, Raffles Chief Executive Jennie Chua said the hotel business lacked scale, ranking 17th or 18th in the world in terms of market capitalization and number of rooms.
To grow, the hotel business would need significant investments and potential cash calls and "that's something we would not like to do," she said at a press conference.
Following the sale, Raffles' only non-cash asset will be its 45 percent stake in Tincel, which owns the Raffles City Complex in Singapore.
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