Blackstone Group has announced that it is selling a stake in its hotel company Hotel Investment Partners (HIP) to the Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC.
GIC is one of the leading investors in the hotel sector in the Mediterranean, with HIP’s portfolio comprising 73 hotels with over 20,000 rooms and around 10,000 employees, primarily in resorts in Spain, Italy, Greece, and Portugal, managed by leading brands such as Marriott, Hyatt, Barceló, Melià, and Lopesan.
The world’s largest private equity fund, Blackstone, is currently particularly interesting to the Croatian public as one of the most likely future owners of Sunčani Hvar, as reported by Lider earlier this week. Blackstone is currently one of the leading candidates in the sale process of the Hvar hotel company announced a few months ago by the Czech fund CPI Property Group.
According to the announcement, the contract will see GIC acquire 35 percent stake in HIP, while Blackstone will retain the remainder in a company valued at over 4 billion euros, as reported by the Financial Times.
This acquisition is the latest indicator of the confidence that GIC has in the European hotel sector and also demonstrates the strength of sovereign wealth funds in the era of high interest rates.
Transformation of the Hotel Landscape
Since 2017, HIP has been following a strategy of acquiring and repositioning well-located hotels that have not been sufficiently invested in, having invested over 600 million euros in its portfolio to date. Sunčani Hvar fits into the strategy in which GIC has shown high confidence.
Alejandro Hernández-Puértolas, founder and CEO of HIP, emphasizes that this partnership with GIC, along with Blackstone’s controlling stake, is a further vote of confidence in HIP’s business and the resort sector in Europe.
– The cumulative size, scope, and capital of the partners will strengthen our ability to continue transforming the hotel landscape in Southern Europe. The fundamentals of the hotel market in Southern Europe remain strong, with revenues up over 20 percent compared to last year – said the director of HIP.
Lee Kok Sun, Chief Investment Officer of GIC’s real estate segment, stated that they are investing in one of the most prestigious hospitality platforms in the Mediterranean.
– We look forward to collaborating with Blackstone and HIP’s management team as they continue to execute HIP’s strategy for investing in existing assets and capitalize on the growing demand for high-quality Mediterranean resorts – said Lee Kok Sun.
